| 00:00 | | We are at Cologne Regional Court where the first trial against a vaccine manufacturer |
| 00:06 | | has begun. It is about compensation for damages due to severe side effects from vaccination. |
| 00:14 | | The plaintiff is 37-year-old Sebastian Schönert. |
| 00:18 | | The young man narrowly escaped death. He was one of hundreds in Germany |
| 00:24 | | to suffer from a “sinus vein thrombosis” after being vaccinated. |
| 00:29 | | He is now suing the manufacturer, AstraZeneca, because the pharmaceutical company |
| 00:33 | | refuses to accept any liability. —Now I wouldn’t want to compare it with David against Goliath, |
| 00:40 | | because I’m a very small David. Without legal protection insurance, using my own funds, |
| 00:44 | | using my own savings to enter a legal battle and take the risk. |
| 00:52 | | In May 2021, the young man had himself vaccinated with AstraZeneca. |
| 00:56 | | His family doctor had offered him his last remaining vaccine dose and he gladly accepted. |
| 01:01 | | A few days after the vaccination, headaches plagued him. |
| 01:05 | | Despite painkillers, the headaches didn’t stop. His family doctor wasn’t available, |
| 01:09 | | and he was about to go on vacation, so he went to the emergency room of the Marien Hospital. |
| 01:18 | | I was lucky that a competent person took the time, and also had the capability of testing quickly. |
| 01:27 | | It was more or less by chance that I was asked whether I had been vaccinated or not. |
| 01:33 | | Because for me it was clear: the vaccination had nothing to do with my headaches. |
| 01:37 | | Then a test was done, a blood analysis. —The result was alarming. |
| 01:43 | | The young man was rushed to the nearest university hospital with blue lights and sirens. |
| 01:47 | | Instead of flying off on vacation, he ended up in intensive care. |
| 01:52 | | Only weeks later did he realize that he had only narrowly escaped death. |
| 01:57 | | Before receiving the vaccination I was perfectly healthy. |
| 02:01 | | And then suddenly I find myself in a bed of the intensive care unit, |
| 02:05 | | being informed that within a few more hours, at the most one or two days, I would have been dead. |
| 02:11 | | The doctors’ diagnosis is clear: Sinus vein thrombosis. A vessel occlusion in the brain |
| 02:18 | | was “vaccine-induced”, i.e. triggered by the vaccination. |
| 02:23 | | The Greifswald University Hospital also confirms the severe side effect of the vaccination. |
| 02:27 | | The blood analysis which indicated this remained critically positive for months |
| 02:31 | | after the vaccination. As a result, Sebastian Schönert |
| 02:34 | | must take blood-thinning medication for nearly a year. |
| 02:38 | | Hoping for an out-of-court settlement, he submitted all his medical documents |
| 02:43 | | to AstraZeneca. At the very least, he wanted the cancellation costs for his vacation reimbursed. |
| 02:48 | | However, the manufacturer rejected any liability. In a letter, the company emphasizes |
| 02:54 | | the “positive risk-benefit ratio” of its vaccine. Furthermore, |
| 02:58 | | “a very low risk of sinus vein thrombosis was mentioned in the product information.” |
| 03:06 | | However, the claim that he was informed about the life-threatening side effect |
| 03:10 | | is false, says Sebastian Schönert. He also doubts the “positive risk-benefit ratio.” |
| 03:16 | | As a reminder: AstraZeneca-caused serious side effect occurred in several hundred, |
| 03:22 | | mainly younger people. As a result, the vaccine was discontinued from December 2021. |
| 03:27 | | So, six months after his vaccination, the vaccine was no longer used in Germany. |
| 03:31 | | If there had been a risk that this vaccine might be withdrawn from the market, |
| 03:38 | | I would not have been vaccinated with it. —His lawyer Joachim Caesar-Prellern |
| 03:42 | | has filed suit not only for Sebastian Schönert, but also in ten other cases. |
| 03:46 | | These involve not only thromboses, but also heart damage and autoimmune diseases |
| 03:52 | | and not only those caused by AstraZeneca. The claim of the manufacturers that the vaccinated |
| 03:56 | | were aware of the risks is questionable, in his opinion. |
| 04:00 | | It was propagandized: “It’s just a little prick; |
| 04:03 | | it has no side effects. One does not have to worry. |
| 04:06 | | There might be some minor discomfort in the upper arm at the injection site.” |
| 04:12 | | People were led to believe that there was no health risk to them. |
| 04:19 | | This is also what 22-year-old Oliver Janke believed when he had himself vaccinated |
| 04:23 | | with BioNTech in the summer of 2021. He never imagined that his life would change |
| 04:29 | | so dramatically. Shortly after his second vaccination he was diagnosed with |
| 04:33 | | Guillain-Barre Syndrome. This is an autoimmune disease that can lead to paralysis. |
| 04:41 | | Previously in good health, he spent almost nine months in hospitals and rehab facilities. |
| 04:49 | | My physical condition, for example, was total paralysis. I couldn’t do anything anymore. |
| 04:55 | | I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t eat. I could only blink my eyes and even that was sporadic. |
| 05:03 | | The doctors report his case to the Paul Ehrlich Institute. |
| 05:07 | | They consider it probable that the BioNTech vaccination triggered the autoimmune disease. |
| 05:14 | | For nearly a year, Oliver Janke has battled to get out of his wheelchair and learn to walk again. |
| 05:19 | | Nevertheless, he’ll probably never be able to work again in his profession |
| 05:23 | | as a construction machine operator. The Medical Service of the statutory health funds |
| 05:27 | | has categorized his condition as second-degree disability, for which he currently receives |
| 05:31 | | a temporary disability pension. |
| 05:36 | | That’s really just a drop in the bucket. It’s not a lot of money. |
| 05:41 | | If compensation for pain and suffering and damages isn’t successful, |
| 05:45 | | then it’s financially a super disaster as well. Total economic damage beyond repair. |
| 05:54 | | He has also filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer BioNTech |
| 05:58 | | at the Potsdam Regional Court for damages and compensation for pain and suffering |
| 06:01 | | in the amount of €150,000. Proceedings have not yet been opened in his case. |
| 06:10 | | His lawyer is also currently representing ten injured parties in court. |
| 06:14 | | He’s angry that the federal government has restricted patient safety, and in his opinion |
| 06:20 | | worsened the legal situation of vaccinated people with this regulation. |
| 06:25 | | Jens Spahn, then Minister of Health, issued the regulation back in May 2020. |
| 06:30 | | This was long before the first vaccines came on the market. |
| 06:34 | | The so-called “Spahn Ordinance” looks to us like a wish list from the pharmaceutical industry. |
| 06:39 | | It’s extremely scandalous, because it suspends all safety mechanisms, which, mind you, |
| 06:46 | | apply to approved drugs. —What the lawyer means is that according to this regulation, |
| 06:53 | | the manufacturers can distribute vaccines without package inserts and allow vaccines |
| 06:58 | | whose expiration dates have expired to be administered. In addition, |
| 07:04 | | the strict liability regulated in the Medicines Act has been suspended. |
| 07:09 | | According to the Spahn ordinance, manufacturers are only liable in cases |
| 07:13 | | “of gross negligence or intent.” —This regulation has subsequently turned strict liability |
| 07:19 | | into fault-based liability. Suddenly, injured parties are required to prove intent or negligence |
| 07:28 | | on the part of the manufacturer, which is not required with strict liability. |
| 07:33 | | We asked the Federal Ministry of Health why manufacturers were apparently favored |
| 07:39 | | in this manner? A more pressing question is: why was this regulation extended |
| 07:43 | | until the end of 2023? |
| 07:47 | | “This is necessary,” according to the statement, “in order to provide availability |
| 07:51 | | of the Covid-19 vaccines in a supply adequate for the population.” |
| 07:56 | | There are further privileges for manufacturers. With these sort of contracts, |
| 08:01 | | the German federal government and the other EU member states committed to |
| 08:05 | | paying all legal fees and court costs in the event of liability for the manufacturers, |
| 08:11 | | as well as any claims for damages that arose. |
| 08:16 | | In other words, the federal government assumes all the risks for the manufacturers, |
| 08:20 | | who make billions in profits from the vaccines. Injured parties such as Oliver Janke feel |
| 08:24 | | completely left in the lurch. In addition to his suit against BioNTech, |
| 08:29 | | the young man would theoretically also be entitled to federal compensation |
| 08:33 | | according to the Infection Protection Act. As early as February [ of 2022], |
| 08:38 | | he submitted a corresponding application to the pension office of his federal state. |
| 08:42 | | So far without result. The lawyer Joachim Caesar-Preller has yet to witness |
| 08:47 | | any of his 500 clients’ cases receiving a positive decision. |
| 08:52 | | I would have expected following the vaccination campaign in which the Politicians |
| 08:57 | | were so vigorously invested that they would then also make sure, that if someone |
| 09:01 | | actually suffers from vaccine damage, there will be a quick, unbureaucratic compensation. |
| 09:06 | | Unfortunately, this is not the case. —His impression is also consistent with our research. |
| 09:12 | | In Saxony, 310 applications for compensation from vaccination damage were submitted. |
| 09:17 | | Most of them are still being processed, 13 cases were recognized, |
| 09:21 | | but not all of them receive monthly compensation. |
| 09:25 | | In Saxony-Anhalt, there are 160 applications; |
| 09:28 | | 91 are still being processed, and four were recognized. |
| 09:32 | | In Thuringia,198 applications have been filed,166 are open, and 11 were recognized. |
| 09:41 | | These results are in line with the national average. In Germany, 4,835 applications |
| 09:47 | | were submitted. Most are still being processed. 134 vaccination claims have been recognized. |
| 09:53 | | For Oliver Janke the problem is, even if he were to receive federal compensation, |
| 09:57 | | he wouldn’t be able to support a family with it. The amounts range from |
| 10:01 | | €164 to €854 per month. —Of course, it’s regrettable that the government |
| 10:09 | | has completely withdrawn from the entire situation, which means no compensation |
| 10:16 | | from the government. —Sebastian Schönert also thinks it’s unfair that he, as the injured party, |
| 10:24 | | unlike the pharmaceutical companies, has to bear the full risk in the legal proceedings. |
