In October 2008, the Georgia Supreme Court gave a Georgia family the green light to sue a vaccine manufacturer. The ruling goes against a 1986 federal law blocking other lawsuits against vaccine companies.
The Ferrari family had asked the Court to rule that the vaccine maker, American Home Products Corp. (now Wyeth), was liable for damages involving their son, Stefan. Their son was a talkative toddler, and after he received a round of shots at the age of 18 months, that all changed. The boy is now 10 years old, and has not spoken since receiving the shots.
Vaccine manufacturers are up in arms about the decision. The main argument is that seven other state courts have ruled that federal laws pre-empt state laws giving families the right to fight vaccine companies. The Georgia Court of Appeals is the first appellate court to rule that federal law does not take precedence over state tort rules, claiming that the law is unclear.
Vaccine manufacturers have the protection of the federal law so that they are not subjected to a wide variety of state mandates. The vaccine company plans on appealing the decision, stating that the Georgia Court’s decision does not allow for a “uniform procedure to handle claims.” The attorney for the Ferrari family contends that federal law is in place to supplement state law, not replace it. The ruling in favor of the Ferrari family upholds the idea that vaccine manufacturers must prove on a case-by-case basis that vaccines are not responsible for severe side effects in children.
This is a victory for families who firmly believe that, despite claims by the Centers for Disease Control, the thimerosal in vaccines is linked to autism.
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