Widow of NHS pharmacist who took his own life when he was denied compensation after Covid jab left him paralysed wins years-long fight for payout

Published: 01:47, 17 June 2026 | Updated: 01:54, 17 June 2026 The widow of an NHS pharmacist who took his own life after the Covid vaccine left him paralysed has finally been awarded compensation, three years after her husband's death. John Cross suffered a rare reaction to the AstraZeneca jab which left him in hospital on a ventilator, unable to move, talk, or breathe. He gradually managed to gain some mobility back, but never fully recovered after taking the jab. Despite his illness, he was rejected from a government scheme that paid a lump sum of £120,000 to people harmed by the vaccination.   After two years of waiting for a decision, he was told by a medical assessor that he was not disabled enough for a payment. He began the process of appealing, but his family said the rejection had a severe impact on his mental state. In October 2023, Mr Cross, aged 65, took his own life.  His family continued to appeal for posthumous compensation but were denied again. Earlier this month, an independent tribunal with responsibility for overseeing the government's Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS), reversed that decision. And finally, nearly three years after Mr Cross's death, his widow Christine was awarded compensation as well as an apology for the distress caused to her family. John Cross, pictured with his wife Christine, suffered a rare reaction to the AstraZeneca jab which left him in hospital on a ventilator, unable to move, talk or breathe John Cross pictured in hospital where he spent seven months recovering after being diagnosed with Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy Cross's daughter, Liz Whitehead, told The Telegraph: 'There were a lot of times during those years when we thought: "Shall we just leave it?" Because we were bereaved, and this was sucking up all our emotional energy and dad wouldn't want that for us. He would want us to move on and be happy. 'But we had to do this, because of other people as well. If we could stop one other person from feeling suicidal then we had to do it. Dad would want... people to have hope that you can take on a really flawed system and win.'   Mr Cross was a strong supporter of vaccination and was eager to get his jab to protect vulnerable and elderly relatives. He even volunteered to help with the vaccine rollout in Bromsgrove and was one of the first to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.  But two weeks after his first dose, he began to suffer from progressive paralysis that travelled through his body. He was unable to move, blink or breathe and was admitted to intensive care where he was given a breathing tube in his neck and nursing staff had to tape his eyes closed so he could sleep. Doctors eventually diagnosed Mr Cross with Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy, swelling of the nerves that leads to a loss of strength and sensation, and relapsed several times. After seven months in hospital recovering, he slowly learned to eat, walk, and talk again, but his mobility and fitness never returned to the level it was before he got sick. He was left with chronic pain and numbness and relapsed several times. Doctors urged Mr Cross to submit a claim to the VDPS, but after two years of delays, only one review of his medical records and no face-to-face assessment, his claim was rejected. His mental health began declining shortly after the rejection and he eventually took his own life in October 2023 after another flare-up meant he would have to receive more gruelling treatment. Mr Cross's eldest son, Adam, said his father dreaded the intense dialysis-like treatment to remove rogue antibodies from his blood because it left him extremely fatigued for days after. Mr Cross had begun gathering medical evidence to have the judgment overturned before he took his own life, but he became increasingly anxious and overwhelmed. Under the VDPS, a medical examiner assesses patient records and testimonies from doctors involved in the claimant's care. His widow, Christine, told Sky News in 2024: 'I'm very angry. John went through enough with the illness and the recovery without going through the trauma of this bureaucracy'  Pictured left to right: John Cross's daughter, Liz Whitehead, and his two sons Adam and Phillip The claimant must be deemed to be 60 per cent disabled to qualify for payment. For example, an amputation below the knee would be deemed sufficient for a payout. The Cross family's solicitor, Peter Todd, of Scott-Moncrieff and Associates, said medical assessors struggle to make 'apples and pears' comparisons with complex damage from vaccines. He said: 'The threshold is often misunderstood as being very high, akin to being totally paralysed. 'But it isn't. It's a much lower standard, and they have to take into account both the physical disablement and the psychological impact.' His family continued to fight for compensation posthumously, but was once again rejected. A year after his death in October 2024, the VDPS told the family that not only was their father not disabled enough, but that there was not enough proof that the vaccine caused his disability.  Ms Whitehead said: 'If Dad hadn’t killed himself with that first rejection letter, he would have killed himself with the second one. It got worse, and I couldn’t believe that it could get worse.' The family continued their campaign for justice and had two further appeals rejected. Finally, the family was given a hearing at the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal, which is impartial and independent of the Government.  They were then told last month that the VDPS had conceded causation. It was also revealed that a neurologist had reviewed Mr Cross's medical records and discovered his diagnosis had been incorrect. The family was told that their father had autoimmune paranodopathy, and if he had been treated as such, may have seen a different outcome. The VDPS then conceded that Mr Cross had reached the disability threshold and his family was at last granted the full compensation payment of £120,000. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. 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