If you are reading this, there is a good chance you or a loved one has SIRVA or is at least concerned about it enough to do some research. If you live in the United States and you have SIRVA from the flu vaccine or another vaccine that is covered by the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (“VICP”) you may be entitled to compensation. If you fall into this category, the number one pitfall you should avoid is delaying your initial treatment.
You should seek medical attention as soon as possible. When you file a claim for damages, one of the things you must provide the court with is the date and location of where you first sought treatment for your injury. Many people think “how could a little needle do this to me” and they put off seeking medical treatment. They live with the pain thinking and hoping it will go away but it doesn’t. By the time they go to the doctor it has been months and this delay in treatment will be used against the injured person to argue that the administration of the vaccine did not cause the injury or that the injury was not very severe because the person did not feel the need to seek treatment.
Even if you don’t go to the doctor, you should at least send your doctor a message stating that you are having shoulder pain. If you have an unrelated doctor’s appointment, make sure you mention your shoulder pain anyways. Even if it is to a doctor who has nothing to do with your shoulder. At least this way it will go into your chart. It’s always better to see a doctor in person but if you have to, schedule a telehealth or phone appointment. Send an e-mail or MyChart message. If you are talking to a family member or friend who is a doctor or nurse about your shoulder pain, document it. Keep the text messages. Send your family member or friend an e-mail or text summarizing your phone call about your shoulder injury and keep a copy of it.
There is no magic amount of time in which a person has to seek medical treatment but the sooner the better. Nobody is going to hold it against a person for waiting a day or a week or even a month, but as the months build up it gets harder and harder to convince the court that a person has been injured the whole time. The court is reasonable and will take all circumstances under consideration so if there has been a delay in the onset of treatment, so it isn’t necessarily fatal to a person’s claim, however the sooner treatment is sought the better.
Currently the average SIRVA case payment in the VICP is around $100,000.00. Accordingly, it is worth the time and effort to preserve your right to file a claim. As always, please feel free to call/text me 773.412.3320 or email me at dan@sirvainjury.com with any questions. My services area always free. Also, you can find more info about filing a VICP claim at http://www.sirvainjury.com and you can watch my videos on SIRVA on my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@sirvainjury6864
If you are suffering from SIRVA, I hope you get some relief soon.