Unprecedented ruling recognizes 'direct' link between Sputnik vaccine and young woman's death

A groundbreaking ruling by the Federal Chamber of Córdoba has established a direct causal relationship between the Sputnik V vaccine and the death of a 24-year-old woman from thrombocytopenia, a condition involving a significant drop in platelets. The court has ordered the Argentine national government to provide compensation to the victim's family as stipulated by national law 25.773, which addresses adverse effects from COVID-19 vaccines, giving the state 30 days to finalize the process.

This landmark decision is the first of its kind in Argentina. The court found that the scientific and medical evidence presented by the young woman's mother "more than adequately met the threshold of preponderance of evidence" required by law to prove the link between the vaccination and the harm suffered. Melín Agustina Sartori died on July 29, 2021, a week after receiving her first dose of the Sputnik V vaccine on July 15. Her mother, Virginia Ruiz, a doctor, stated that Melín was healthy and had chosen to get vaccinated to protect the people she assisted.

Martín Barbará, the mother's lawyer, explained that the case followed all procedures outlined in national law 27.573, which requires pursuing administrative claims before resorting to legal action. Ruiz was determined to have the vaccine-death link officially recognized. While the Ministry of Health acknowledged the connection during the judicial proceedings, it had initially withheld compensation due to an ongoing legal case.

Initially, the National Commission for Vaccine Safety (Conaseva) had classified the case as "Indeterminate B1," meaning a temporal link existed but without sufficient definitive evidence of causality. This classification led the Superintendence of Labor Risks to reject the family's administrative claim. However, the court highlighted that this classification reflected the scientific understanding in August 2021 and that the system allowed for revisions based on new evidence. A reevaluation in 2024 by Conaseva concluded there was "evidence of causality with the vaccine," reclassifying the event as "Related A1." The tribunal emphasized that this technical modification was crucial in definitively resolving the debate over the causal link.

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satisfies more than adequately the threshold of preponderance of evidence