Rulings on autism-vaccination connection expected
Taken from CNN Health 12 Feb 09
A Department of Justice special court will hand down rulings Thursday in cases asking whether certain vaccines cause autism, the lead plaintiffs' attorney told CNN Wednesday.
A group of parents are seeking compensation saying early childhood vaccinations triggered their children's autism.
A group of parents are seeking compensation saying early childhood vaccinations triggered their children's autism.
A panel of "special masters" will issue decisions on three test cases heard in 2007 involving children with autism that their parents contend was triggered by early childhood vaccination, said attorney Thomas Powers.
The parents seek compensation, saying the "combined" exposure to thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative, in some vaccines and the MMR vaccine led to autism, he said.
The three families -- the Cedillos, the Hazelhursts and the Snyders -- have been notified of the development, as have the more than 180 lawyers collectively representing the 4,800 families with claims in the Vaccine Court Omnibus Autism Proceeding, Powers said.