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This previous message got deleted, so I just wanted to repost this! Sorry forthe repeat, but it is actually worth a second read!Pattyhttp://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews & storyID=1808546

US Government Asks Court to Seal Vaccine Records

Tue November 26, 2002 10:47 AM ET

By Todd Zwillich

WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - Attorneys for the Bush Administration asked a

federal court on Monday to order that documents on hundreds of cases of

autism allegedly caused by childhood vaccines be kept from the public.

Department of Justice lawyers asked a special master in the US Court of

Federal Claims to seal the documents, arguing that allowing their automatic

disclosure would take away the right of federal agencies to decide when and

how the material should be released.

Attorneys for the families of hundreds of autistic children charged that

the government was trying to keep the information out of civil courts,

where juries might be convinced to award large judgments against vaccine

manufacturers.

The court is currently hearing approximately 1,000 claims brought by the

families of autistic children. The suits charge that the

measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, which until recently included a

mercury-containing preservative known as thimerosal, can cause neurological

damage leading to autism.

Federal law requires suits against vaccine makers to go before a special

federal "vaccine court" before any civil lawsuit is allowed. The court was

set up by Congress to speed compensation claims and to help protect vaccine

makers from having to pay large punitive awards decided by juries in state

civil courts. Plaintiffs are free to take their cases to state courts if

they lose in the federal vaccine court or if they don't accept the court's

judgment.

The current 1,000 or so autism cases are unusual for the court. Because it

received so many claims, much of the fact-finding and evidence-gathering is

going on for all of the cases as a block.

Monday's request by the Bush Administration would prevent plaintiffs who

later go to civil court from using some relevant evidence generated during

the required vaccine court proceedings.

Plaintiffs' attorneys said that the order amounted to punishment of the

families of injured children because it would require them to incur the

time and expense of regenerating evidence for a civil suit.

"Wouldn't it be a shame if at the end of the day our policy would be to

compensate lawyers," said Jeff Kim, an attorney with Gallagher Boland

Meiburger & Brosnan. The firm represents about 400 families of autistic

children who received the MMR vaccine.

Kim accused the government of trying to lower "a shroud of secrecy over

these documents" in order to protect vaccine manufacturers, who he said

were "the only entities" that would benefit if the documents are sealed.

While federal law clearly seals most documents generated in individual

vaccine cases, it has never been applied to a block proceeding like the one

generating evidence in the autism cases.

Administration lawyers told Special Master Hastings that they

requested the seal in order to preserve the legal right of the Secretary of

Health and Human Services to decide when vaccine evidence can be released

to the public.

Justice Department attorney Matanoski argued that to let plaintiffs

use the vaccine court evidence in a later civil suit would confer an

advantage on plaintiffs who chose to forgo federal compensation.

"There is no secret here. What the petitioners are arguing for are enhanced

rights in a subsequent civil action," Matanoski said of the plaintiffs.

"They're still going to have unfettered use within the proceedings."

Hastings would not say when he would issue a ruling on whether to seal the

court documents, but did say that his decision would be "very prompt."