Massachusetts Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Judges ruling affects vaccine controversy

In an article in the New York Times, three federal judges ruled against three families in test cases seeking compensation from the federal vaccine injury fund.  The judges said that the families had not shown that their children's autism was brought on by the presence of thimerosal, a mercury vaccine preservative, by the measles virus used in the measles/mumps/rubella vaccine, or by a combination of the two.  Massachusetts attorney Thomas M. Kiley concentrates on legal cases regarding defective products.

According to the article, there are 5,000 more cases pending where families are seeking compensation from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. by trying to prove that vaccines injured their children.  In a published statement, the department of Health and Human Services said this determination by federal judges should reassure parents that vaccines do not cause autism.  The full reports of the Special Masters are available here.