A little-known federal agency charged with assessing claims of those who have suffered serious injuries after taking the COVID-19 vaccine is “a kangaroo court” that routinely rejects allegations of adverse medical events, according to a federal lawsuit filed in Louisiana.
Eight individuals and an organization called React 19 Inc. filed the lawsuit Oct. 10 in the Western District of Louisiana. The complaint alleges that the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP) has failed to provide timely and adequate compensation to those who suffered adverse medical conditions after getting the vaccine.
“The CICP is akin to a Potemkin village,” the lawsuit states. “It is an elaborate façade designed to hide an undesirable reality. CICP is the epitome of a kangaroo court or a star chamber – a proceeding that ignores recognized standards of law and justice, is grossly unfair and comes to a predetermined conclusion.”
The actions of the agency, which was created by the passage of the federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act, is not consistent with Congress’ intentions, according to the lawsuit.
“CICP claims are consistently lost, ignored, denied or caught up in the years-long purgatory of government bureaucracy,” the complaint says. “The compensation, if any, is neither timely nor adequate. Perhaps the decisions are uniform, but only in the sense that claims uniformly get lost in a black hole for years or are uniformly denied.”
Lacking an adequate remedy to fairly review the COVID-19 claims of tens of thousands of Americans, the Prep Act’s provision of legal immunity to coronavirus vaccine manufacturers simply doesn’t hold up, the lawsuit states. In turn, the plaintiffs urge the federal court to provide claims filers with adequate legal options, including the opportunity to review evidence used against filers, rights to obtain discovery, the chance to be heard at hearings and the opportunity for appeals and judicial review.
Aaron Siri, one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, said in an email to the Louisiana Record that none of the defendants, including the federal Health Resources & Services Association (HRSA), has responded to the lawsuit. The HRSA also did not respond to a request for comment from the Record.
Siri said thousands of Americans may be affected by serious COVID-19 vaccine reactions.
“(Plaintiff) React19 … currently has over 36,000 American members injured following a Covid-19 vaccine,” he said. “According to the CICP, only 32% of its members filed a request for benefits with CICP (about 11,520 people). As of Oct. 1, HRSA reports that 12,233 requests for benefits have been submitted.”
The federal government’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System reports that it has received 1.6 million submissions, according to Siri. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine-monitoring system, called V-safe, found that 770,000 people reported having to seek medical care after receiving the vaccine.
“The relief requested here (in the lawsuit) should extend to everyone and provide universal relief, so there is no need for a class action,” Siri said.
The range of complications the plaintiffs have faced include permanent disabilities and death, according to the lawsuit. Some plaintiffs have experienced Bell’s palsy, tremors, chronic fatigue, chronic migraines and other severe reactions, the complaint says.
“React19, Inc. stands for its current members and, tragically, a growing list of former members who have lost their lives to suicide when they could no longer manage the adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccines,” the lawsuit says.