Victims of sleep disorder vow to f ight on in court
A YOUNG Irishman who developed narcolepsy after receiving a vaccine for swine flu says he and other victims will continue fighting the State for compensation.
It comes after the State settled this week with Kildare woman Aoife Bennett, 26, in a similar case, with no admission of liability.
Ms Bennett developed narcolepsy after receiving the Pandemrix swine flu jab in her school in 2009.
The trial was expected to last 10 weeks but came to a halt in the fifth week after the State agreed an undisclosed settlement.
Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder characterised by excessive sleepiness, sleep paralysis, hallucinations, and in some cases partial or total loss of muscle control.
Commentators had speculated that the settlement was bad news for the other 100 or so people in Ireland who claim to have developed the disorder after getting the vaccine.
But Dominic Vaz, 24, whose case was highlighted by the MoS last year, says the settlement has given hope to him and others.
‘It means they are acknowledging what happened to us and the fact that we know we have a lifelong debilitating condition.
‘I just hope the rest of us won’t have to go to court like Aoife.’
From within weeks of receiving the vaccine in school, he said he changed from being an energetic teenager to someone who was constantly falling asleep.
The young student from Kinnegad, Co. Westmeath, first put it down to exhaustion. But when he rear-ended a car after becoming sleepy on his way back from work one day, he knew instinctively it was something more serious.
‘I went from doctor to doctor for a couple of years and eventually a local doctor said he thought it was narcolepsy. He had another patient who developed the same thing after the vaccine.
‘I went to the Mater private and they confirmed it.’
Now living in the Belgian city of Antwerp, his life is ruled by the condition. ‘I try not to let it be, but if I’m honest I have to plan everything around the fact that I have this condition. And obviously that includes my work, which is the most important thing.’ He’s in the process of opening a café in Antwerp, one that will shut at 6pm to facilitate his need to sleep.
He and all the other Irish victims are members of Sufferers of Unique Narcolepsy Disorder (SOUND), a charity set up by parents of the children affected.
When the vaccine was purchased in 2009, the Government had granted GlaxoSmithKline full indemnity from any potential claims. The HSE finally stopped administering the vaccine in March 2010. It’s estimated that the State is facing legal and other costs
‘I don’t know how we did it; I’m glad it’s over’
of up to €4million following settlement of the Bennett case alone.
One parent, Tadhg Kennedy, whose 16-year-old son Jack also developed the condition, says the State has spent millions ‘aggressively fighting’ cases like that of Ms Bennett and his son, whose case is also pending.
‘It’s just bonkers,’ he says. Speaking after her case was settled, Aoife Bennett said she was shocked at the ‘adversarial’ nature of the case. The 21 long court days were ‘really drawn out’, she said, especially because of her debilitating condition. ‘I don’t know how we did it. I’m glad that it’s over now.’