For Lake Country鈥檚 Ross Wightman, life will likely never look the same as it did pre-pandemic, and in May of this year he filed a lawsuit against those he feels should be held accountable for his life-changing injuries.
A negative reaction to a single dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine received on April 30, 2021, would lead Wightman to a diagnosis of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disorder in which the body鈥檚 immune system attacks the nerves.
Wightman was one of the first Canadians to be approved for compensation following a vaccine injury.
This has allowed him to have coverage for physiotherapy, massage therapy, orthotics, medications, and other health-related care.
The Vaccine Injury Support Program, however, only assists financially for three years following approval.
At the beginning of 2023, Wightman had only one year left of coverage and decided to take the matter before the courts.
At first, it was a group effort after a law firm in Toronto reached out to Wightman saying they would fight for him and others also experiencing vaccine injuries.
鈥淚 think they had about 15 of us and up until鈥id-to-late March we thought we were going ahead. They had determined ahead that there was enough meat on the bone there that they wanted to go ahead with the lawsuit.鈥�
Just days later, the law firm came back with publicity concerns, Wightman said, and ultimately redacted their offer to help. 鈥淚t was really demoralizing.鈥�
But with the fuel sparked, the husband and father took his story to Pushor Mitchell in 琉璃神社 and a civil suit was filed.
鈥淚 and my family have suffered so much already. The financial and health ramifications are not just short term for my household, they鈥檙e long term and possibly life-long.鈥�
Wightman is taking AstraZeneca, the Attorney General of Canada, the Province of B.C., Interior Health, Verity Pharmaceuticals and Hogarth鈥檚 Clinic Pharmacy to court for the adverse effects he had from the vaccine.
As of Oct. 20, AstraZeneca filed a response to the notice of civil claim denying allegations that their vaccine cause Wightman鈥檚 injuries.
The civil suit is still before the courts.
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