BioNTech is preparing for its first court session tomorrow, Monday, after a German woman filed a lawsuit against the company seeking compensation for alleged side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. The woman is suing the German vaccine manufacturer for at least 150,000 euros (161,500 dollars) in compensation for physical damages, as well as unspecified compensation for material damages, according to a court in Hamburg reviewing the case and the law firm Rogert & Olbrich representing her. The plaintiff claims to have suffered from upper body pain, swelling in the limbs, fatigue, and sleep disturbances due to the vaccine.
In response, BioNTech, which holds the marketing authorization in Germany for the vaccine doses it developed in collaboration with Pfizer, stated that it has concluded after careful study that the lawsuit is unfounded. The company noted that "approximately 1.5 billion people have received the vaccine worldwide, including more than 64 million in Germany."
Tobias Olbrich, a lawyer at the firm, told Reuters that he aims to contest in court the assessment made by regulatory authorities in the European Union and German vaccine evaluation bodies that the benefits of the BioNTech dose outweigh its harms.
German pharmaceutical law stipulates that pharmaceutical and vaccine companies are only liable to pay compensation for side effects if "medical science" proves that their products cause disproportionate harm compared to their benefits, or if the information provided by the company on the product is incorrect. The law firm has filed around 250 lawsuits on behalf of clients seeking compensations for alleged side effects of COVID-19 vaccines.
