US Court Rules In Favour Of Family In MMR Vaccine Case - Ben Zeller Jr

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US Court Rules In Favour Of Family In MMR Vaccine Case Ben Zeller

Jr

The US Court ruled [July 2008] in favour of this little boy

Zeller that as a result of the MMR vaccination received on 17 November

2004, , suffered persistent, intractable seizures,

encephalopathy, and developmental delay.

All other published decisions are

found here.

Please note that:-

the standard of proof being applied in this special US Court is

identical to that in the English Court. just like the English Court, these cases are decided by judge alone

sitting without a jury.

" It also seems evident that the vaccine was a substantial factor

in causing the injury found by the Court, which, prima facie, would

appear to satisfy the element of proximate cause in this case. Applying

the traditional legal rule from Tort law, that Respondent takes

Petitioner as he finds him (a.k.a. the “Eggshell Skull Rule”), the fact

that may have had a genetic predisposition or a physiologic

susceptibility does not defeat Petitioner’s case as a superseding factor.

So long as the vaccine was a substantial factor, and its influence was

not overborne by a superseding cause, the Court is justified in ruling

that the proximate causation requirement is satisfied.

The logical sequela of these findings of fact is that Petitioners

have carried their burden of proof on the issue of vaccine-related

causation. Inasmuch as the other elements of § 300aa–11 ( and © have

already been satisfied, the Court holds that Petitioners have met their

burden on their case in chief, on the ultimate issue of entitlement to

compensation.

The burden now shifts to Respondent to proffer a factor unrelated to

the vaccine as either a more likely cause of the injury found by the

Court, or as a superseding cause of the injury that obviated any effect

of the vaccine. This Respondent has not done. The only medical

explanation proffered by Respondent was the predestination of intractable

seizures, encephalopathy, and developmental delay based on an

undetermined genetic predisposition toward neurodegeneration. As

discussed by the Court above when addressing proximate causation on

Petitioner’s case in chief, the Court’s findings in this case are

inconsistent with a ruling that ’s genetic susceptibilities

overbore the effect of the vaccine as a superseding cause. Likewise,

there is not a preponderance of evidence from within the medical records

that any specific alternative diagnosis–not a single named etiology

confirmed by testing–could be identified. Unconfirmed speculation

by a few treating doctors, as with Dr. Wiznitzer’s hypothesization, were

unconfirmed by testing in the first instance, and unsupported by the

medical records in the second. Consequently, the Court concludes

that there is not a factor unrelated to overcome Petitioner’s evidence on

causation. "

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Sheri Nakken, R.N., MA, Hahnemannian

Homeopath

Vaccination Information & Choice Network, Nevada City CA & Wales

UK

Vaccines -

http://www.wellwithin1.com/vaccine.htm Vaccine Dangers &

Childhood Disease & Homeopathy Email classes start in January

2009