Woman Files $10.5 Million Lawsuit Against Federal Government and CBC for Vaccine Harms

A syringe is prepared with COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic in Montreal, on March 15, 2021. (Paul Chiasson / The Canadian Press)

A Canadian mother of three who says she suffered “permanent, significant physical, psychological, and emotional harms, and other damages” after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine has filed a $10.5 million lawsuit against the federal government, CBC News, and others.

According to a July 3 media release by the groups Empowered Canadians and the Institute for Freedom and Justice, the lawsuit was filed in the Court of King’s Bench in Lethbridge, Alberta, against the federal minister of health, the chief public health officer of Canada, Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, Alberta Health Services, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, among others.

“The Defendants held themselves out as public health experts, or as reporting on behalf of health experts, or as public health broadcasters. They intentionally set out to build a relationship of trust between themselves and the public during COVID at a time when they knew the public was vulnerable and afraid,” lawyer Eva Chipiuk, who is representing Carrie Sakamoto, said in the release.

“They knew or ought to have known that the public would be relying on their information for their health, safety and protection. Ms. Sakamoto relied, to her detriment, on the representations made by the government and the CBC and this resulted in serious permanent harm to Ms. Sakamoto.”

The lawsuit, which is being supported by the two citizens’ rights advocacy groups, alleges that the defendants were “negligent, provided information they knew to be false and incomplete,” and that they censored “truthful and reliable information about vaccine injuries which caused harm to Ms. Sakamoto.”

The statement of claim also alleges that CBC News abdicated its responsibility to hold government agencies to account by acting as a “mouthpiece of the minister of health and the various provincial health authorities in Canada.” CBC did not respond to an Epoch Times request for comment before press time.

Chipiuk said that while the defendants were assuring Canadians that COVID-19 vaccines were safe, the federal government conceded to the Public Accounts Committee that the contracts with the vaccine manufacturers were rushed, did not follow the normal safety standards, and “provided additional indemnities in favour of the manufacturers.”

During a Standing Committee on Public Accounts meeting on Feb. 16, Liberal MP Anthony Housefather said the companies were “being told to rush vaccine production and do testing in an unprecedented way, in a way that they don’t normally do it,” and that the companies wanted exceptional government agreements because they were being “exposed to a way higher liability in putting their products on the market than they normally would be.”

Health Canada says its approval of the COVID-19 vaccines was “based only on scientific and medical evidence showing that vaccines are safe and effective.” Health Canada did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

Alberta Health Services was also contacted but didn’t immediately respond.

Severe Case of Bell’s Palsy

According to the release, Sakamoto was a “previously healthy woman” until she received her second COVID-19 vaccine. Shortly afterward, she was admitted to Lethbridge Hospital with paralysis in her face, mouth, and tongue, and difficulty eating and blinking. Sakamoto remained on a feeding tube in the hospital for 17 days.

After a medical evaluation, the 47-year-old was diagnosed with a severe and permanent case of Bell’s palsy, a condition that causes sudden weakness in the muscles on one side of the face, the release says. Sakamoto went on to experience chronic health issues such as facial paralysis, vision impairment, dizziness, memory loss, cognitive impairment, sleep disruption, speech impairment, and tinnitus.

“Ms. Sakamoto’s ability to drive has been compromised, further exacerbating her isolation and the challenges faced by her and her children,” the release continues. “In order to accommodate her needs and attend medical appointments and rehabilitation treatments, Ms. Sakamoto and her family were compelled to sell their rural family farm and relocate to an urban area.”

While Sakamoto was assisted through the Canadian government’s Vaccine Injury Support Program, she is arguing the money she received did not “adequately cover the full extent of her injuries, psychological impact, or financial losses resulting from her vaccine-related injuries.” As of June 1, a total of 1,859 claims have been received by the program, 1,553 have been deemed admissible, and 103 claims have been approved by the Medical Review Board.

Sakamoto said she reached out to “various mainstream media outlets” to share her story without success, so she turned to social media to spread awareness of her case.

“Many individuals have reached out, thanking her for sharing her story, and Ms. Sakamoto has endeavoured to help others by listening to others and sharing her personal experiences,” says the release.

In addition to the $10.5 million payout, Sakamoto is seeking declarations that the COVID-19 vaccine approvals were “unlawful,” that the minister of health and its agencies “exceeded their lawful authority in approving the COVID vaccines,” and that the minister of health ought to have “recalled or paused” the vaccine rollout after seeing an increase in adverse reactions.