Horse owners launch $53 million class action against vaccine maker
Horse owners have launched a $53 million law suit against the pharmaceutical company responsible for developing the Hendra vaccine.
The owners, from New South Wales and Queensland, are claiming that Zoetis Australia PTY LTD did not provide adequate warnings about the potential side effects of the vaccine on their horses.
Half a million doses have been administered to horses across Australia since 2012.
About 1,500 horses have experienced adverse reactions and have not been able to return to their regular work.
The barrister instructed by LHD Lawyers, John Rowe, said Zoetis failed to inform horse owners of the potential side effects and have breached the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Act by failing to properly trial and test the vaccine before its release.
“The reality is the vets that administered the vaccination initially didn’t give the owners any warning at all,” Mr Rowe said.
“Many of the horse owners would not have agreed to the inoculation had they been warned of the possible side effects.”
Class action a risk: company
Damages are being sought for any individual horse owner whose horse was effected by the vaccine resulting in death or loss of use.
Michael Hyland, special counsel for LHD Lawyers, says the owners that are part of the class action had suffered significantly.
“It’s had a profound impact on the horse owners and it’s something they are struggling to come to terms with,” Mr Hyland said.
Zoetis has issued a statement saying the vaccine wass “safe and effective” and “no vaccinated horse has contracted the Hendra virus”.
The company said it has not been notified of a claim and a class action would put people and animals at risk.
The Hendra virus has killed 103 horses and four people across 60 separate outbreaks in QLD and NSW.
See more here: abc.net.au
Header image: ABC Rural: Kim Honan
Editor’s nore: This article was originally publihsed in March 2018, and the case appears to still be in litigation
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Tom
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$53 million? That’s cookie jar money to big pharma crooks. Should be $53 billion.
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Lorraine
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This scenario about lack of proper trials and uninformed consent sounds very familiar.
What occurs to me is the multimillion dollar lawsuit on behalf of Australian horse owners who were duped into vaxxing their animals. Where are the lawsuits worldwide for the egregious violation of safety protocols for the untested and dubious C19 vaxxes for injured humans?
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donna buck
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Vaccinations are the biggest earner for vets…. heard this several years ago… the madness that is the pharmaceutical cartels must be ended. Class Action Lawsuits worked against Monsanto/Bayer and the cancer causing weed killer sold as Roundup…. we need more of these lawsuits to bring out the truth and make these cartels pay until they are bankrupt…. not just a slap on the back of the hand….
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