Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Supreme Court decides design defect claims are preempted by vaccine act

In a very closely watched case, the US Supreme Court ruled today that federal law shields vaccine makers from product-liability lawsuits that are filed in state courts for injuries attributed to a vaccine. Writing for the court, Justice Antonin Scalia, said the vaccine law “pre-empts all design-defect claims against vaccine manufacturers brought by plaintiffs who seek compensation for injury or death caused by vaccine side effects.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, dissented, saying the ruling “leaves a regulatory vacuum in which no one ensures that vaccine manufacturers adequately take account of scientific and technological advancements when designing or distributing their products.” For more on this very important case go here, here and here. For previous posts and more background information go here, here, here, here and here. I am assuming there will more comments on this case in the next few days so I will continue to update this post with more links as they come in. Check back for the latest.... UPDATE (2/23) go here and here for the latest.

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