Danish Healthcare Trainee Seeks $1.6 Million Compensation After Severe COVID-19 Vaccine Injury

A 30-year-old Danish healthcare trainee is seeking $1.6 million in compensation through Denmark’s workers’ compensation program, after sustaining major injuries from a single dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, Berlingske reports.

Jasmin Jenson took the jab on February 27, 2021 – just 12 days before the Danish Health Authority paused the use of the vaccine. Jenson, who was interning at a residence for autistic individuals, experienced a reaction to the vaccine just hours after being injected. She subsequently became so ill that she had to give up her education.

Jasmin Jenson (photo: Tobias Stidsen)

Jenson is now on disability pension due to constant headaches, concentration difficulties, and nearly chronic fatigue. Her loss of working capacity has been assessed at 90 percent, leading to a compensation of approximately 11 million DKK (US$1.6 million), according to the report.

This amount takes into account that she was only 30 years old when the injury occurred. The compensation would be paid out gradually, offset against her disability pension, and corresponds to the salary she could have earned as a healthcare assistant until she turns 73 in 2064, the age for public pension eligibility in Denmark.

Jensen’s employer, Fredericia Municipality, initially refused to report her case as a work-related injury, arguing that vaccination was voluntary. However, the case was reported only because Jensen herself did so with assistance from Danish trade union magazine, Fagbladet FOA.

The Danish Workers’ Compensation Board (AES) later overruled the municipality, determining that the employer had a special interest in Jensen being vaccinated. “We have considered that the health authorities recommend COVID-19 vaccination for specific employee groups and specific tasks, which includes your role as a social and healthcare assistant trainee,” states the decision, which Jensen acknowledges: “Our leader was very clear in urging us to get vaccinated. I didn’t want to oppose it. It also played a role that I was to intern at a hospital later in the year, so getting vaccinated was the most sensible thing to do,” she told the outlet.

“It’s a pretty extreme case, and it doesn’t get any better by the fact that Jasmin is so young,” says the union case worker from FOA Trekanten, Anne Blomme (tv). She is one of the three people the main character sends a special thanks to because they believed in her. The other two are specialist doctor Unni Jeppesen and Jasmin’s grandmother, who has comforted, acted, cleaned, and accompanied her to all doctor’s visits along the way. (photo: Tobias Stidsen)

Voices from the Ground: Jensen and the Municipality’s Director Weigh In

Jensen’s own recount of the events echoes the desperation of millions who were forced into vaccination to protect their livelihood: “Our leader was very clear in urging us to get vaccinated. I didn’t want to oppose it.”

Conversely, Mette Heidemann, the Director of Employment and Welfare at Fredericia Municipality, paints a picture of adherence to national recommendations and a hands-off approach to employee health decisions: “An employer cannot force employees to get vaccinated. An employer can only make recommendations.”

But they did…

Meanwhile, with 240 similar cases reported to the Danish Workers’ Compensation Board, each involving loss of working capacity post-COVID vaccination, the story of Jasmin Jensen is not an isolated incident but part of a larger, ongoing wave of lawsuits and claims that are piling up around the world.