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| Jasmine Daya |
Despite one’s opinions on how the pandemic was handled by all levels of government in Canada and one’s beliefs about the vaccine itself, what is certain is that some individuals have suffered significant adverse effects from the COVID-19 vaccine.
In my article published on Nov. 17, 2020, “COVID-19 vaccine injury lawsuits — Don’t count on it,” I explained that 19 countries in the world have a “no-fault” Vaccine Injury Compensation program. I stated that Canada was the only G7 country and one of two G20 nations that did not have such a program. Quebec, however, has had a program since 1985.
I advocated for a vaccine injury compensation program to ensure Canadians felt comfort in knowing that if they suffered from a severe adverse effect due to the COVID-19 vaccine, they would have access to financial assistance. Drug manufacturing companies of the COVID-19 vaccine were given immunity and thus, a compensation program is necessary for Canadians.
On Dec. 20, 2020, the federal government announced the implementation of a no-fault vaccine injury support program for all Health Canada-approved vaccines. This was excellent news. I directed individuals to the Vaccine Injury Support Program (VISP). I felt proud to have advocated for this program and to see it come to fruition. I felt my job was done.
I could not have been more wrong. I was blindsided.
In recent weeks, I have been contacted by individuals who had initially been in touch with me in 2021 to advise that their claims have been denied. These individuals suffered from Guillain-Barré Syndrome, multiple blood clots and myocarditis. How could they have been denied?
For the last few weeks, my mind has been racing on what I have uncovered and what I need to do to help Canadians across the country who have contacted me for assistance, as well as for all those who are quietly suffering. I have learned distressing details that I’m sharing in the hopes that public outcry will result in beneficial and necessary change.
In 2021, Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton (RCGT), an accounting and consulting company with no direct health-care involvement at the time, was “unanimously” selected by the Public Health Agency of Canada through an open solicitation process to administer the program.
Initially, the federal government allocated $32.2 million to the VISP, with RCGT being paid $20.3 million, leaving nearly $12 million available to successful claimants.
In April 2024, the federal government increased funding to a total of $75 million for the first five years of the program; however, the administrator of the program has received $56.2 million thus far and, as of June 1, 2024, has paid out a total of $14,080,434 to successful claimants (see “Vaccine Injury Support Program — Statistics.”)
On June 1, 2021, the VISP began accepting claims. As of June 1, 2024, 2,628 claims had been received, with 2,172 claims being deemed admissible and of those, 183 claims have been approved, which translates to 8.4 per cent of admissible claims.
The denials are like nothing I have ever seen as a lawyer practising in Ontario for over 18 years. The decisions are completed by a panel of three doctors; however, their identities and credentials are unknown. The medical records of individuals are said to be obtained by the VISP to determine the outcome of the claim; however, the claimant is never given a copy of the records and my requests have been ignored. The decisions made by the panel are not publicly available. The financial compensation for claims is not publicly available or known.
Instead, all that’s stated is that compensation is determined on a “case-by-case” basis. There is no guideline on how to appeal the decision. The timeline to process claims and appeals is not fully known; however, it’s obviously not fast enough given the statistics as well as how much has been paid out to claimants, which is about a quarter of what has been paid to the administrator.
I submitted my first appeal on a VISP decision this week. The preliminary decision was upsetting given the lack of transparency and clarity, as well as the panel’s reference to one source in their decision, which was an online website called “Zenodo,” an “open science” platform based in Switzerland. This website was relied upon to deny entitlement to the claim. This made me question whether the “panel” was even based in Canada.
A couple of nights ago, I went to dinner with my cousin. I expressed frustration with the inability of those suffering from significant medical issues arising from adverse effects of the COVID-19 vaccine to obtain compensation from the VISP. These individuals are in pain, live in fear of the future and, often, are incapable of working to support themselves and their families. My cousin agreed that it was a terrible situation but asked me what I get from raising red flags aside from potential backlash by certain stakeholders (which has already commenced).
I was astonished by the question. What I get from helping those who are genuinely suffering through no fault of their own is beyond anything financial compensation can provide. I have a voice and I intend to use it for those who can’t.
Jasmine Daya is a managing lawyer at Jasmine Daya & Co., a civil litigation law firm, practising primarily in the area of personal injury related to minors, vaccine injury, club assaults, social and commercial host liability, elder abuse and other unique claims. She can be reached at jasmine@jdlawyers.ca.
The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the views of the author’s firm, its clients, Law360 Canada, LexisNexis Canada or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.
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