📣 ‘Historic’: Federal Court Says AstraZeneca Not Immune From Liability in Case Involving Woman Injured by COVID Vaccine During Clinical Trial A federal court ruled Monday that a lawsuit filed by a woman injured by AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine during a U.S. clinical trial can continue. The court rejected the drugmaker’s claim that a federal liability shield protects it from breach-of-contract claims. Brianne Dressen sued AstraZeneca in May, alleging she was injured and became disabled by the company’s vaccine in 2020 when she participated in the company’s clinical trial. According to the complaint, AstraZeneca’s consent form for trial participants promised enrolees medical treatment in the event of illness or injury suffered during the study. In its motion to dismiss, filed in June, AstraZeneca said that under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) of 2005 — which grants manufacturers of emergency countermeasures such as COVID-19 vaccines immunity from legal liability — Dressen could not sue the vaccine maker for her injuries. But in his Nov. 4 ruling, Chief Judge Robert J. Shelby of the U.S. District Court in Utah said the PREP Act’s liability shield does not extend to breach-of-contract claims. He said the basis of Dressen’s claim “is a broken promise, not a countermeasure.” The ruling stated: “PREP Act immunity requires a causal link between the claim and a tangible medical countermeasure, and breach of contract claims arise from one party’s failure to perform a legal obligation without regard to any countermeasure. The PREP Act’s statutory scheme and purpose support this construction.” Shelby’s ruling could result in more lawsuits challenging the PREP Act, according to Ray Flores, senior outside counsel for Children’s Health Defense. READ MORE ⬇️ https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/astrazeneca-covid-vaccine-liability-ruling/?utm_source=sovren&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=defender&utm_id=20241105

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