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NATIONAL VACCINE INJURY COMPENSATION PROGRAM
If you or a family member have been injured as a result of receiving a vaccination, you may be entitled to compensation pursuant to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Generally, compensation for vaccine related injuries or death can be awarded if a claim is filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims within three years of the injury or death, the vaccine at issue is set forth in the Vaccine Injury Table, the vaccine was administered in the United States or one of its territories, no one has previously collected an award or settlement of a civil action for damages arising from the alleged vaccine related injury, and no previous civil action has been filed in the matter.
After you file a Petition, the case is heard by a Special Master, sitting without a jury, in an entitlement hearing, which is a proceeding in which causation is determined. Generally, no discovery is involved, and each sides experts testify at the entitlement hearing without their depositions being taken. If the Special Master finds entitlement, then the case case proceeds to a determination of damages. Petitioners are entitled to their special damages (e.g., medical bills and lost wages), but general damages (e.g., pain and suffering) are capped at $250,000.00. Petitioners can handle these cases themselves, but of course, like any other litigation, it is complicated, and since the government is represented by the U. S. Department of Justice attorneys who specialize in Vaccine Court cases, Petitioners probably should be represented by counsel in these Vaccine Court cases. The Petitioner's attorneys are paid not by their clients, but by the Vaccine Court, at a reasonable hourly rate, to be determined by the Vaccine Court, when the case is concluded.
I currently represent a client who was injured by an MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine, who developed rheumatoid arthritis as a result of the vaccination. After the entitlement hearing, I settled the case with the Department of Justice, and we're waiting to receive the settlement. I am also preparing the Petitions for two other vaccine injury cases, and reviewing several others.
If you are interested in pursuing an injury or death claim which was caused by a vaccination, please call me. However, I am not accepting any vaccine caused autism cases.
Vaccine Court Rejects Mercury-Autism Link
Posted by: Stephen Leshner
March 12, 2010
'Vaccines court' rejects mercury-autism link in 3 test cases
The finding supports a broad scientific consensus that the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal does not cause autism, and will likely disappoint parents who are convinced otherwise.
By Thomas H. Maugh IIMarch 12, 2010 | 12:57 p.m.
The government's "vaccines court" ruled Friday in three separate test cases that the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal does not cause autism, a finding that supports the broad scientific consensus on the matter but that is likely to disappoint parents who are convinced that their child's illness has been caused by vaccines.
The court had ruled 13 months ago that the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, commonly known as MMR, does not cause the disorder, and the new ruling may finally close the bulk of litigation on the matter. More than 5,000 parents had filed claims with the court, formally known as the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, seeking damages because they believed their children had developed autism as a result of vaccinations.
The cases that three special masters for the court chose to include in the omnibus proceeding were considered among the strongest, so the outlook appears grim for others making the same claim.
Special Master Denise K. Vowell wrote in one of the decisions that "petitioners propose effects from mercury in [vaccines] that do not resemble mercury's known effects in the brain, either behaviorally or at the cellular level. To prevail, they must show that the exquisitely small amounts of mercury in [vaccines] that reach the brain can produce devastating effects that far larger amounts experienced prenatally or postnatally from other sources do not."
She also dismissed claims that some groups of children are unusually susceptible to the effects of mercury. "The only evidence that these children are unusually sensitive is the fact of their [autism] itself."
The special vaccine court was established in 1986 because vaccine manufacturers were facing many liability suits that threatened their ability to continue manufacturing the valuable medicines. The court holds no-fault hearings to determine if a child has, in fact, been damaged by a vaccine. Compensation comes from a special fund based on a surcharge leveled on each dose of vaccine.
The court has made many awards to parents who successfully showed that their children were damaged neurologically or otherwise by vaccination -- a rare, but nonetheless real event -- but has refused to accept claims that autism is caused by vaccination.
Measles, Mumps and Rubella Vaccine (MMR) and Autism
Posted by: euser
September 05, 2008
A recent study published in PLoS One, the online journal of the Public Library of Science concluded that there is no link between MMR and autism. The study tested the proposition that the vaccine's weakened muscle virus somehow lodged in and inflamed intestines, allowing wasted products to escape and reach the central nervous system. The research team had two questions: Does measles virus really persist in children with both disorders (autism and gastrointestinal complaints), and did vaccination precede the GI complaints which in turn preceded autism? Studying 25 children with both autism and GI disorders, the researchers found no relationship with vaccine timing as 5 of the children had MMR vaccines preceeding GI complaints which in turn preceeded autism symptoms, and only one child had traces of measles genetic material in his bowels.
