Vaccination after occupational medical vaccination is not an accident at work

Only if a flu vaccine is necessary for professional reasons, a possible occurring vaccine damage can be claimed as an accident at work. To this judgment came the social court Dortmund.

Vaccine damage after occupational flu shot
If the company doctor initiates a flu vaccine, a possible vaccine damage is not automatically an occupational accident. Such a vaccine would only be considered if this vaccination is required professionally. This is the result of a court ruling, to which the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Sozialrecht of the Deutscher Anwaltverein (DAV) draws attention in a report by the dpa news agency. In the negotiated case of the Social Court Dortmund (Az .: S 36 U 818/12), a female employee had her vaccine vaccinated against influenza by her company doctor.

Vaccine damage no industrial accident. Image: From Schonertagen - fotolia

Action for recognition of an accident at work
On whether a flu vaccine makes sense, health experts and laymen argue. A Bochum museum staff member has decided to do so and suffered a vaccine damage. After an occupational flu shot, the woman fell ill with the Guillain-Barré syndrome, which among other things leads to a feeling of numbness in the legs. The employee then sued the administrative professional association for recognition of an accident at work, but has failed with their lawsuit before the Dortmund Social Court. In Germany, there is an occupational diseases list of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs for years.

Plaintiff was no more at risk than others
The plaintiff remained unsuccessful: the judges found that recognition as an accident at work was only possible if the activity required a flu vaccine. However, that was not the case with the applicant in the museum. Although she had had contact with visitor groups, the risk of infection had not been greater than at other workplaces with contact with colleagues and the public or in the private sector, for example when shopping. (Ad)