March 12, 2010 6:58 p.m. EST
Washington (CNN) -- A federal court ruled Friday that the evidence supporting an alleged causal link between autism and a mercury-containing preservative in vaccines is unpersuasive, and that the families of children diagnosed with autism are not entitled to compensation.
Special masters of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims released more than 600 pages of findings after reviewing three test cases and finding all the claims wanting.
"Petitioners' theory of vaccine-related causation is scientifically unsupportable," wrote Special Master Patricia Campbell-Smith in her conclusion about William P. Mead, whose parents, George and Victoria Mead, had brought one of the suits.
"In the absence of a sound medical theory causally connecting William's received vaccines to his autistic condition, the undersigned cannot find the proposed sequence of cause and effect to be logical or temporally appropriate. Having failed to satisfy their burden of proof under the articulated legal standard, petitioners cannot prevail on their claim of vaccine-related causation."
In the second test case, Special Master George L. Hastings Jr. wrote, "The record of this case demonstrates plainly that Jordan King and his family have been though a tragic ordeal," referring to the minor, whose parents, Fred and Mylinda King, had brought suit.
"After studying the extensive evidence in this case for many months, I am convinced that the opinions provided by the petitioners' experts in this case, advising the King family that there is a causal connection between thimerosal-containing vaccines and Jordan's autism, have been quite wrong." The special master italicized the last two words.
"Nevertheless, I can understand why Jordan's parents found such opinions to be believable under the circumstances."
"In this case, the evidence advanced by the petitioners has fallen far short of demonstrating such a link," he said.
In the final test case, Special Master Denise K. Vowell wrote of Colin R. Dwyer, a minor, that his parents, Timothy and Maria Dwyer, "have not demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence that Colin's condition was either caused or significantly aggravated by his vaccinations. Thus, they have failed to establish entitlement to compensation and the petition for compensation is therefore denied."
Congress set up the special judicial forum, sometimes called the "vaccine court," in 1986 to address claims over vaccine safety.
Rebecca Estepp, who attended the hearings and said her 12-year-old son, Eric, has been diagnosed with autism she blames on vaccine, described herself as "devastated" with the rulings, but not surprised.
"The deck is stacked against families in vaccine court," she said in a telephone interview from her home in Poway, California, about 20 miles north of San Diego. "You have government attorneys defending a government program using government-funded science before government judges. Where's the justice in that?"
Tom Powers, a Portland, Oregon-based lawyer for the families involved, said his clients were disappointed.
"All three families are committed to following the appeals process, and pursuing that avenue to get justice and compensation for their kids," he said.
The special masters' decisions are subject to review by judges in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Within the next 30 days, attorneys for the families will ask the claims court judges to review the decisions and rule that the children are, in fact, entitled to compensation.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/12/va ... index.html
13 Mar 2010, 5:53 pm
