Government to Pay Family in Vaccine Case
Posted on: Thursday, 6 March 2008, 12:20 CST
Government health officials ruled that a Georgia girl should receive compensation from a federal vaccine-injury fund due to damage caused by a vaccine.The claims that childhood vaccines led to autism-like symptoms were substantiated in a decision that Kevin Conway, a Boston lawyer representing more than 1,200 families with vaccine injury claims, calls “a beginning.”
"Each case is going to have to be proved on its individual merits,” he said. “But it shows to me that the government has conceded that it's biologically plausible for a vaccine to cause these injuries. They've never done it before.”
However, Linda Renzi, the lawyer representing federal officials, insisted that the decision does not indicate a precedent and that the government "has not conceded that vaccines cause autism."
Almost 5,000 families are seeking compensation in similar claims that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative led to the development of autism or other disabilities in their children.
In 1988, Congress initiated a special fund for claims received in “vaccine court.” Since then, 950 claims have been paid - none of them were for autism.
The 9-year-old Georgia girl in the most recent case has a disorder involving her mitochondria which can be present at birth from an inherited gene or acquired later in life . It can lead to delays in walking and talking.
Associated Press obtained a copy of the concession by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials. The document noted that the girl received five vaccines in one day in 2000 which disrupted her mitochondrial condition, predisposing her to metabolic problems that manifested as worsening brain function "with features of autism spectrum disorder." In the 1990s, the definition of autism was expanded to take in a group of milder, related conditions, which are known as autism spectrum disorders.
The issue has already appeared in this year’s presidential debate when Republican John McCain claimed on Friday that "there's strong evidence" autism is connected thimerosal.
The document obtained by the Associated Press does not indicate whether it was the fault of thimerosal.
While many families with similar complaints are hoping the recent decision will also apply to their claims, some still doubt the overall precedent of the case.
"No link between mitochondrial disorders and autism spectrum disorder has been made in mainstream medicine," Dr. Michael Pichichero of the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y told Associated Press.
The Health Resources and Services Administration, which is in charge of the special vaccination fund, said: "HRSA has maintained and continues to maintain the position that vaccines do not cause autism."
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On the Net:
FDA - Thimerosal
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Associated Press
Source: redOrbit Staff and Wire Reports
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