Republican Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) is moving to pass legislation that will allow Americans to sue vaccine makers over injuries and deaths caused by Covid shots.
Roy unveiled his new bill on Tuesday which he has dubbed the “Let Injured Americans Be Legally Empowered” (LIABLE) Act.
The bill is aimed at wiping away Covid vaccine manufacturers’ statutory protections, opening them up to civil lawsuits.
A summary of the bill states:
“The LIABLE Act will allow Americans who took vaccines that were misleadingly promoted and forced onto many Americans via federal mandates to pursue civil litigation for their injuries.
“These vaccines were given emergency use authorization unilaterally and did not go through the normal FDA approval process.”
Currently, manufacturers and healthcare providers responsible for distributing experimental Covid mRNA injections are mostly immune from civil lawsuits.
The companies remain shielded even if those seeking monetary damages have medical proof of their vaccine-related injuries.
That’s because the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act of 2005 limits liability for the manufacturing, development, and distribution of medical countermeasures related to a public health emergency.
The PREP Act also created the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP), which has a one-year statute of limitations and only provides compensation in the event of death or serious injury.
According to Roy, CICP has compensated people just 11 times despite thousands of claims lodged.
In a statement, Roy said:
“Millions of Americans were forced to take a COVID-19 shot out of fear of losing their livelihoods and under false pretenses.
“Many have faced injury from the vaccine, but few have been afforded…recourse.
“To date, a mere 11 injury claims have been paid out despite nearly 700 million doses of the vaccine having been administered.”
The public health emergency declaration for the COVID-19 pandemic expired last May.
However, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service, PREP Act liability protections for the mRNA injections are expected to mostly last through the end of this year.
Roy’s LIABLE Act would allow Americans claiming to be injured from the vaccine to retroactively sue manufacturers despite the aforementioned protections.
While supposedly developed to save lives during the pandemic, the Covid injections have also been blamed for devastating side effects such as heart failure, blood clots, strokes, and even sudden death.
Many of these cases still require further study but it’s a trend that’s alarmed Republican lawmakers.
Many have long said that mandating the COVID-19 vaccine is a violation of Americans’ right to privacy.
Andrew Powaleny, PhRMA spokesperson, criticized the bill in a statement.
“COVID-19 has been a reminder of why we need safe and effective vaccines,” he said.
“All vaccines, including those for COVID-19, are subject to a rigorous safety and efficacy review process and post-market monitoring.
“By upending the existing liability framework manufacturers rely upon to provide predictable vaccine development, our ability to address future public health threats will be at risk.”
Roy has led the charge against those vaccine mandates.
The congressman has also been leading efforts to roll back COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the U.S. military.
His latest bill has at least a dozen House GOP co-sponsors.
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