Vaccine injury guide
Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration (SIRVA)
SIRVA is not a reaction to what is in the vaccine. It is an injury from where the needle went: too high on the shoulder, into the bursa, tendons, or joint capsule instead of the deltoid muscle. It is the single most common claim in the vaccine court.
Signs to look for
- Shoulder pain that starts within 48 hours of the shot and does not go away
- Limited range of motion — trouble lifting the arm, reaching behind the back
- Pain that is worse than normal post-shot soreness and lasts for months
- A diagnosis of bursitis, adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder), rotator cuff tendinopathy, or similar after the vaccine
Which vaccines
Every injectable vaccine on the Table lists SIRVA: flu, Tdap/Td, hepatitis A and B, HPV, MMR, pneumococcal, meningococcal, Hib, IPV, varicella, and any newly added vaccine.
- tetanus toxoid
- pertussis antigens
- measles, mumps, and rubella virus
- inactivated polio virus
- Hepatitis B vaccines
- Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccines
- Varicella (chickenpox) vaccines
- Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines
- Hepatitis A vaccines
- Seasonal influenza vaccines
- Meningococcal vaccines
- Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines
- Any new vaccine the CDC recommends for routine use in children or pregnant women
Is it on the Table?
Yes. Onset within 48 hours of vaccination. You must have had no prior history of pain or dysfunction in that shoulder, and the pain must be limited to the shoulder where the shot was given.
The deadline
Three years from the first symptom — which for SIRVA is usually the day of, or the day after, the shot. Do not wait for physical therapy to fail before talking to an attorney.
Think this is you?
Describe your symptoms and the date of the shot. An attorney who handles these cases will tell you whether it is worth filing — at no cost to you, because the program pays the fee.