VRM
February 24, 2011
Supreme Court ruling on Industry liability re. childhood vaccines: ‘US Federal law bars lawsuits against drug makers over serious side effects from childhood vaccines. Congress set up a special vaccine court to handle such claims as a way to provide compensation to injured children without driving drug manufacturers from the vaccine market, a no-fault system that spares the drug companies the costs of defending against parents’ lawsuits.
Vaccine manufacturers fund from their sales an informal, efficient compensation program for vaccine injuries, In exchange they avoid costly tort litigation, occasional disproportionate jury verdict…a way to provide compensation to injured children without driving drug manufacturers from the vaccine market, a no-fault system that spares drug co’s the costs of defending against parents’ lawsuits.’ US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
“No vaccine manufacturer shall be liable in a civil action for damages arising from a vaccine-related injury or death associated with the administration of a vac-cine after October 1, 1988, if the injury or death resulted from side effects that were unavoidable even though the vaccine was properly prepared and was accompanied by proper directions and warnings.” National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act/1986 (http://vaccineepidemic.com/images/bruesewitz2011.pdf).
“The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 (NCVIA or Act) created a no-fault compensation program to stabilize a vaccine market adversely affected by an increase in vaccine-related tort litigation and to facilitate compensation to claimants who found pursuing legitimate vaccine-inflicted injuries too costly and difficult. The Act provides that a party alleging a vaccine-related injury may file a petition for compensation in the Court of Federal Claims, naming the Health and Human Services Secretary as the respondent; that the court must resolve the case by a specified deadline; and that the claimant can then decide whether to accept the court’s judgment or reject it and seek tort relief from the vaccine manufacturer. Awards are paid out of a fund created by an excise tax on each vaccine dose. As a quid pro quo, manufacturers enjoy significant tort-liability protections. Most importantly, the Act eliminates manufacturer liability for a vaccine’s unavoidable, adverse side effects.” US Supreme Court Justice Scalia
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