19-year-old student dies post-Covishield, Parents seek Rs 1 crore compensation

Kochi: A 19-year-old postgraduate student allegedly died due to the aftereffects of the compulsory administration of the Covishield vaccine, the Kerala High Court sought a response from the centre to a plea filed by the parents seeking Rs 1 crore as compensation from the government.

As per a media report in the Live Law, the petitioners moved the Kerala High Court demanding justice, seeking Rs 1 crore as compensation for the death of their only daughter. 

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The bench of Justice N Nagaresh sought a response from the central government on this matter. 

The daughter of the petitioner was a postgraduate student, who was given the Covishield vaccine on July 28, 2021. She began feeling unwell the next day and she was eventually taken to a hospital, on August 5, where an antigen test was done. The test results, however, came out to be negative. She was given symptomatic treatment for her headache and fever, treated in casualty and was discharged on the same day. 

However, he condition deteriorated soon, and she was taken to another hospital as she complained of reduced responsiveness, tiredness, headache and a history of vomiting. In the hospital, she was unconscious and eventually developed generalised convulsion. After that, she was intubated and put on a ventilator. 

She passed away on the morning of August 12, and the post mortem report mentioned the cause of her death as intracranial bleeding. 

Her parents had filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission, seeking compensation for the same and an enquiry was conducted by the  District Medical Officer (Health) on the basis of this. The enquiry found no available documentary evidence to suggest that she had any preceding neurological illness, and it confirmed that she began showing symptoms after taking the first dose of the Covishield vaccine. 

Further, the Medical Officer observed that after verifying her hospital records, it became clear that she might have suffered from thrombocytopenia and thrombosis syndrome which is a rare immunogenic response to the Covishield vaccine. 

The plea of the petitioners was moved through Advocates C. Unnikrishnan and M.R Sudheendran, who claimed that the death of the petitioners' daughter is a direct aftereffect of the administration of the Covishield vaccine. 

They further stated that since the vaccination was made compulsory by the union government and the state government, they had no choice but to book a slot on Cowin.gov.in. Further, they argued that the vaccine was administered to the deceased from the hospital without any communication as to the risk factors of the vaccine. 

The petitioners said that even though their daughter was taken to the respondent Hospital on 6th August, she was provided with symptomatic treatment, adding that there was no proper diagnosis as to the illness and appropriate timely treatment, reports the Live Law. 

Therefore, they submitted that the manufacturer of the vaccine, the Union and the State are jointly and severally liable to compensate the petitioners. The plea mentioned that the High Court have the authority to direct the Union and the State to pay compensation to the victim or their family members under writ jurisdiction invoking remedy under constitutional torts, whenever fundamental rights are violated or if any person lost his/her life due to an act of commission and omission on the part of a public servant. 

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