Your Questions About the Autism Vaccine Trials Answered by a Lawyer for the Plaintiff

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Your Questions About the Autism Vaccine Trials Answered by a Lawyer for the

Plaintiff

About.com readers have raised important questions about the autism vaccine

trials now underway. To find answers, I " e-interviewed " Minneapolis

attorney – and former RN -- Sheila Bjorklund (of Lommen, Abdo, Cole, King &

Stageberg, P.A.).

Bjorklund is one of 10 attorneys from around the country on the Executive

Steering Committee for the Petitioners (plaintiffs) in the Court of Federal

Claims: Office of Special Masters, a special panel of three federal judges.

The three judges will hear arguments pro and con about the controversial

hypothesis that mercury in vaccines and/or the live-virus

measles-mumps-rubella shot causes autism or autism-like symptoms in

American children.

Bjorklund, who is representing 23 families, and more than 60 attorneys from

around the country are working on behalf of all plaintiff families against

the defendants, or “respondents” at the US Department of Health and Human

Services, represented by US Justice Department attorneys.

Here are the questions I asked, along with Ms. Bjorkland's responses:

If the courts determine that one or more of the test cases is legitimate,

and awards families compensation, what does that mean for other families

with similar claims? What kind of recompense is the court likely to award,

and in what form? (cash money? services?)

If the court determines that the test cases prove by a preponderance of the

evidence that it is more likely than not that the thimerosal in childhood

vaccines and in this particular test case, the MMR vaccine have combined to

cause autism and other issues, then the families would need to prove their

degree of damages related to the vaccine injury. Awards under the National

Vaccine Injury compensation Act are in the form of money. Awards are to

cover unpaid past and future medical expenses related to the vaccine

injury, past and future pain and suffering, and loss of earning capacity.

Other families would still need to present the specific facts of their

child's case, the court would need to determine that they are eligible for

compensation and they too would need to prove their degree of damages.

If the courts determine that none of the test cases is legitimate, what

does that mean for families who believe their children are vaccine-injured?

If the petitioners lose, there are a couple of avenues. They can appeal to

the Judges of the Court of Federal Claims or they can go out to the civil

court (state/federal) and bring their claims directly against the vaccine

manufacturers.

Who are the 4800 families who are also part of this case? How do the test

cases impact these 4800?

The families are from all around the country. They have on their own or

through legal representation have petitioned the Court of Federal Claims,

under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Act for compensation. This

test case will only affect a portion of these families. It represents one

of three theories of causation. For those families who are claiming the

combined effect of thimerosal and the MMR have caused injury to their

child, their case will be evaluated against the test cases for eligibility

for compensation. For the cases in which the theory is that thimerosal

alone has caused their child's injury, they will wait a little longer.

Those test cases are scheduled to go to hearing in late 2007 or early 2008.

If a family feels that they are in the same situation as the 4800 named in

the trials, can they join the suit? If so, how would they do so? Or would

they be better off going to civil court?

Any claim under the NVICP must be brought within 3 years of the onset of

first symptoms or the manifestation of onset of the vaccine injury. If a

family believes they may have a claim, they can contact the Court of

Federal Claims or a lawyer who handles these cases. The Court of Federal

Claims can give them a list of such lawyers.

Do you think this case will have a significant impact on how Americans view

and administer vaccines overall?

This case is not anti-vaccine. It is a case in which a small number

(%-wise) of children who were injured because they followed the

recommendations for childhood vaccinations are seeking compensation under a

program specifically established by Congress to accomplish that end.

What happens after these trials are over? Is this the end of the vaccine

trials, or is there more to come?

There are more to come. The additional test cases will be heard within the

next 9-12 months. Depending upon the outcome, there will be additional

hearings as the individual claims of the 4800 petitioners are heard.

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Sheri Nakken, R.N., MA, Hahnemannian Homeopath

Vaccination Information & Choice Network, Nevada City CA & Wales UK

Vaccines - http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/vaccine.htm