Families of people who died after Covid vaccination abandon attempt to sue AstraZeneca

Gareth Eve with his wife Lisa Shaw, who died after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. He has now had to abandon attempts to sue the company

Families whose loved ones died after taking the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine have abandoned attempts to sue the pharmaceutical giant after being told that they were likely to lose.

Gareth Eve and other families whose relatives were harmed after having the jab have pulled out of the High Court case after being told that they would be unlikely to succeed with their claims because a leaflet issued at the height of the pandemic warned of a rare side effect associated with the vaccine.

The document, given out at vaccination centres, said that “extremely rare cases of blood clots with low levels of platelets have been observed following vaccination with Covid-19 vaccine AstraZeneca”.

Legal experts believe that this could potentially protect the pharmaceutical firm against cases brought by families whose relatives were given a dose supplied after April 7 2021.

In total, 12 families have now dropped out of the legal action.

More than 50 are still suing the pharmaceutical giant in the High Court, however, because their vaccines were supplied before the warning about blood clots was added to the patient safety leaflets.

Mr Eve, whose wife, Lisa Shaw, died in May 2021 after having the jab, said he felt it was “unjust” that families like his could not continue.

“It’s like the Government and AstraZeneca have wriggled off the hook on a technicality when you just think, ‘come on, what is the right thing to do here?’

“In my opinion, there is a battle here that needs to be had, but I’m not even able to do that anymore”, he told The Telegraph.

“If I didn’t remove my name from the legal action, I wouldn’t be covered by the insurance. I could be liable for the drug company’s costs, which could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.”

He said he felt “utterly bereft”.

After abandoning his legal claim against AstraZeneca, Mr Eve said the £120,000 compensation offered by the Government was insufficient and called for ministers and the drugs company to “sit down and have a conversation” with families like his.

“AstraZeneca and the Government might not have a legal obligation to support us, but they have a moral responsibility”, he said.

Independent studies show the AstraZeneca vaccine was effective in tackling the pandemic, saving more than six million lives globally in the first year of the rollout.

The World Health Organisation has said the vaccine was “safe and effective for all individuals aged 18 and above” and the adverse effect that has prompted the legal action was “very rare”.

The pharmaceutical giant is being sued in a class action over claims its vaccine, developed with the University of Oxford, caused death and serious injury in dozens of cases.

Lawyers argue the vaccine produced a side-effect that has had a devastating effect on a small number of families. AstraZeneca is contesting the claims.

The Government has indemnified AstraZeneca against any legal action but it has so far refused to intervene.

The first case was lodged last year by Jamie Scott, a father of two, who was left with a permanent brain injury after developing a blood clot and a bleed on the brain that has prevented him from working after he received the vaccine in April 2021.

On Thursday, his wife, Kate, said, “This could have been any of us. We will continue fighting to ensure every family – regardless of the date the vaccine caused death and injury – get justice”.

Jamie Scott with his wife Kate. He suffered a brain haemorrhage the day after receiving the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine – Andrew Fox

Sarah Moore, a partner at law firm Leigh Day, who is bringing the legal claims, said: “We feel desperately sorry for Gareth and the other families affected.

“These cases should not have to be fought through the courts. If there was a functioning support scheme, then litigation wouldn’t be necessary”.

Mrs Shaw was 44 when she died and the couple’s son, Zach, was only six years old.

A coroner has ruled that she died owing to complications from the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.

Mr Eve successfully applied for financial support under the Vaccine Damage Compensation Scheme (VDPS), which entitles people who have been severely injured, or the families of those who have died, to receive a one-off payment of £120,000, but he said that he felt the scheme was “not fit for purpose” and needed to be reformed.

‘It turns your life upside down’

“Zach is going to have to grow up for the rest of his life without a mother.  Losing your wife, it turns your life completely upside down, you have to start again”, he said.

He said it felt like the drug company was “passing the buck” if it was going to defend the claim by saying patients were warned in information leaflets.

“I understand some of the terminology in the documents which were released, because that’s the things that killed Lisa.  But had I been sat in a vaccination centre, being farmed through a room with dozens of other people, I wouldn’t have had a clue what they were talking about.

“The loudest voice in the room at the time was from the Government to get vaccinated. Do your bit. Lisa was only doing what she was asked to do”.

It is understood that out of the other 11 cases that have been dropped, one other relates to a fatality and in this case, vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT) is recorded in the death certificate. VITT is the name for the rare condition which causes blood clots and low platelets discovered by scientists during the rollout of the Covid jab.

Of the other ten cases, all but one of these either received a VDPS payment or have had causation accepted by the scheme, even though no payout was made because they were judged to be less than 60 per cent disabled.

AstraZeneca said: “Our sympathy goes out to anyone who has lost loved ones or reported health problems. Patient safety is our highest priority and regulatory authorities have clear and stringent standards to ensure the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines.”

It added: “From the body of evidence in clinical trials and real-world data, the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine has continuously been shown to have an acceptable safety profile and regulators around the world consistently state that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of extremely rare potential side effects.”

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