Consultants assessing Covid vaccine damage claims on behalf of the NHS have been paid millions more than the victims, it has emerged.
Freedom of Information requests made by The Telegraph show that US-based Crawford and Company has received £27,264,896 for its services.
Yet just 203 claimants have been notified they are entitled to a one-off payment of £120,000 through the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS).
This amounts to £24,360,000 in total payments to victims.
The VDPS is run by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) – but has faced criticism for its lack of transparency.
More than 98 per cent of vaccine compensation cases have been thrown out entirely
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Crawford and Company has carried out nearly 13,000 medical assessments, dismissing more than 98 per cent of cases.
The Atlanta-based firm is one of the world’s largest claims management companies, with offices in 70 countries.
However, it has faced public criticism with a meagre 1.4 star ranking on Trustpilot.
Reviews accuse the company of unfair claim denials, dismissal of medical evidence and a lack of transparency.
Durham University law professor Richard Goldberg said: “The idea that this would be farmed out to a private company to make a determination is very odd. It’s taxpayers’ money and money is tight at the moment.”
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Consultants have been paid around £3million more than vaccine damage scheme claimants
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“The lack of transparency is not helpful and there is a terrible sense of secrecy about all of this. One gets the sense that their main objective is for these cases not to succeed,” he added.
Goldberg, who specialises in vaccine liability, has now called for a system that is “fair and accessible”.
Payments have been awarded for conditions related to the Covid jab including strokes, heart attacks, dangerous blood clots and facial paralysis.
Around 97 per cent of claims awarded relate to the AstraZeneca jab, with a handful for Pfizer or Moderna.
Applicants must prove the jab definitely caused their condition and that it made them at least 60 per cent disabled.
The NHSBSA said the threshold was originally 80 per cent, before being revised down to 60 per cent in June 2002 – though failed to provide information about the reason for the cut-off.
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Applicants must prove the jab definitely caused their condition – and that it made them at least 60 per cent disabled
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Thousands of people have been turned down by medical assessors who say there is no concrete proof that the vaccine caused harm.
Hundreds of others have been refused payment because they are “not disabled enough”.
Critics say the 60 per cent disability cut-off is arbitrary and impossible to determine.
The Hart group, comprising medical professionals and scientists, has warned that Crawford and Company has a “troubling reputation with numerous reports of mismanagement and claims denials across various sectors”.
GB News has approached the NHSBSA for comment.