Court orders compensation for death of man after COVID-19 vaccine

Court cites research tying Moyamoya disease to higher incidence of post-vaccine brain hemorrhage

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A South Korean court has ruled that the government should compensate the family of a man who died of a brain hemorrhage a week after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, recognizing a causal link between the vaccination and his death.

According to legal sources cited by local media on Monday, the Seoul Administrative Court recently sided with the widow of the deceased, overturning the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s earlier decision to reject compensation.

Around two hours after receiving a Pfizer vaccine on Dec. 28, 2021, the man collapsed and was rushed to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with an intracranial hemorrhage. Despite receiving treatment, the man died a week later, on Jan. 4, 2022.

Before his vaccination, the man had not been diagnosed with any cerebrovascular disease. During his hospital treatment, however, doctors discovered that he had Moyamoya disease, a rare blood vessel disorder.

Soon after her husband’s death, Jung filed a claim against the KDCA for compensation, asserting that the vaccine caused her spouse’s death. However, the KDCA rejected the claim, stating that it was “difficult to recognize a causal link between his vaccination and death” from the hemorrhage.

The court disagreed with the agency, ruling that the timing and medical evidence submitted to the court supported a plausible connection. It noted that the man had shown no prior symptoms of Moyamoya disease, and that post-vaccine side effects such as fever and hypertension could have exacerbated the condition, triggering the hemorrhage.

The administrative court also cited studies indicating higher rates of brain hemorrhage among Moyamoya patients after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

“It cannot be definitively concluded that the hemorrhage occurred independently of the vaccination,” the court stated. “It is not impossible, according to medical theories, to infer that the vaccine worsened the disease and eventually led to death.”

The court further emphasized the exceptional nature of COVID-19 vaccines, which were authorized and developed over an unusually short period of time.

“Unlike other vaccines, the precise risks and probabilities of adverse outcomes from the COVID-19 vaccine remain unclear and are still not fully understood,” the court added, suggesting that this uncertainty should weigh in favor of victims in compensation disputes.