Re: Re: CLaire??class action suit?

January 21, 2002

Well, that may be true, but what would the percentage be and how would it

relate to the money you have already spent? Perhaps the monies awarded

would be so huge that each plaintiff's percentage would be adequate, but

that's hard to say. The only way to know for sure is to know what relief

is being requested in the particular class action complaint you are

involved in.

And by the way, I'm not a lawyer here and I'm not offering legal advice.

As a said before, I'm a mum to two kids with autism and I work as a

paralegal at Waters & Kraus.

M. Bothwell

Waters & Kraus, LLP

200 Oceangate, Suite 520

Long Beach, California 90802

Tel: (562) 436-8833

Fax: (562) 590-7296

" jsprig2001 "

<jsprigmore@my

home.net> cc:

Subject: [ ] Re:

CLaire??class

01/21/2002 action suit?

10:19 AM

Please respond

to

I was under the impression from my attorneys that there may very

well be a settlement outside of court and that everyone in the class

action suit would get a percent of the monies? If this isn't the

case, I would be interested in going another route. We already have

spent money on treatment that we don't have. Our only desire in a

suit is to have enough to care for our son- if the class action suit

isn't going to do that, I have to find another way.

Any advice you have would be helpful. Thank you!

>

> Moira and list,

>

> Individual suits are the only way parents can recoup money for the

loss of

> their child(ren) and the subsequent cost of raising them, not to

mention

> " pain and suffering " . Class action suits cannot award individual

damages

> for personal injury because every case is different and every

person in the

> class has different damages. All class action suits can do is go

forward

> against certain defendants to establish rulings and precedents

regarding

> negligence and liability. But that is important in relation to

individual

> suits that come along after. Class action lawsuits also grab the

attention

> of the media and can bring certain pressure upon defendants in

them to

> modify their products. They are therefore useful, but they are not

> designed to provide individual relief to the plaintiffs in them.

People do

> tend to get excited about the mention of a " class action " lawsuit -

but its

> probably true that the only people who benefit monetarily are the

lawyers

> that file them.

>

> What parents on this list must be aware of, however, is that once

you make

> a connection between vaccines and your child's autism, your

statute has

> started to run and in some states (California for one) you only

have a year

> from that date to file a lawsuit. Therefore, if you suspect

vaccines may

> have injured your child, and you think you might want to make a

claim for

> damages, you must be aware that your statute is already running.

>

> I'm also the parent of two children with autism. I live with

these issues

> at work and at home.

>

> M. Bothwell

> Waters & Kraus, LLP

> 200 Oceangate, Suite 520

> Long Beach, California 90802

> Tel: (562) 436-8833

> Fax: (562) 590-7296

>

Moria

> Merriweather Autism-

Mercury@y...

> <moriam@earthl

cc:

> ink.net> Subject: Re: [Autism-

Mercury] Re: class action

>

suit?

>

01/20/2002

> 07:35

AM

> Please

respond

>

to

> Autism-

Mercury

>

> >They're doing individual cases, that's why I went with them. I

think if

> you

> >go with a class action it's the lawyers who make all the money

from what

> I've

> >heard.

> >

>

> if this is correct, it is sure too bad. I think only a class

action

> can get compensation for all the injured kids -- and, of course,

that

> is only if it is an inclusive enough " class " . just my 2 cents.

> I have no idea if ANY of the legal stuff will " pan out " . But,

> personally, I would like it if everyone's therapy (chelation, etc)

> could be paid for....

>

> Moria

> [not a parent]

>

> =======================================================

>

January 21, 2002

,

I did not know you had two kids with autism?? I spoke with you about my

case then it was transferred to texas and then you know the rest..

You and walters and krause were such a help to me. that must be great to be

working for them with all of this going on. Good luck to you.

kathy dunkelberger

PS: Is till have nto received the results of my son's mercury testing and

it was done on november 6th. This is sooo long..i have re called the docs

office to no avail....i am wondering if it was not messed up for some

reason..ialready paid the dr fees and for the bloodwork so this would be

just awful...

it must be my luck this type of thing always happens..

i am just focusing now on providin gmy son with the best life, education,

and experiences that i can...thanks again for your help...----- Original

Message -----

From: <claire@...>

< >

Sent: Monday, January 21, 2002 1:46 PM

Subject: Re: [ ] Re: CLaire??class action suit?

>

> Well, that may be true, but what would the percentage be and how would it

> relate to the money you have already spent? Perhaps the monies awarded

> would be so huge that each plaintiff's percentage would be adequate, but

> that's hard to say. The only way to know for sure is to know what relief

> is being requested in the particular class action complaint you are

> involved in.

>

> And by the way, I'm not a lawyer here and I'm not offering legal advice.

> As a said before, I'm a mum to two kids with autism and I work as a

> paralegal at Waters & Kraus.

>

> M. Bothwell

> Waters & Kraus, LLP

> 200 Oceangate, Suite 520

> Long Beach, California 90802

> Tel: (562) 436-8833

> Fax: (562) 590-7296

>

> " jsprig2001 "

> <jsprigmore@my To:

> home.net> cc:

> Subject: [ ] Re:

CLaire??class

> 01/21/2002 action suit?

> 10:19 AM

> Please respond

> to

>

> I was under the impression from my attorneys that there may very

> well be a settlement outside of court and that everyone in the class

> action suit would get a percent of the monies? If this isn't the

> case, I would be interested in going another route. We already have

> spent money on treatment that we don't have. Our only desire in a

> suit is to have enough to care for our son- if the class action suit

> isn't going to do that, I have to find another way.

> Any advice you have would be helpful. Thank you!

> >

> > Moira and list,

> >

> > Individual suits are the only way parents can recoup money for the

> loss of

> > their child(ren) and the subsequent cost of raising them, not to

> mention

> > " pain and suffering " . Class action suits cannot award individual

> damages

> > for personal injury because every case is different and every

> person in the

> > class has different damages. All class action suits can do is go

> forward

> > against certain defendants to establish rulings and precedents

> regarding

> > negligence and liability. But that is important in relation to

> individual

> > suits that come along after. Class action lawsuits also grab the

> attention

> > of the media and can bring certain pressure upon defendants in

> them to

> > modify their products. They are therefore useful, but they are not

> > designed to provide individual relief to the plaintiffs in them.

> People do

> > tend to get excited about the mention of a " class action " lawsuit -

> but its

> > probably true that the only people who benefit monetarily are the

> lawyers

> > that file them.

> >

> > What parents on this list must be aware of, however, is that once

> you make

> > a connection between vaccines and your child's autism, your

> statute has

> > started to run and in some states (California for one) you only

> have a year

> > from that date to file a lawsuit. Therefore, if you suspect

> vaccines may

> > have injured your child, and you think you might want to make a

> claim for

> > damages, you must be aware that your statute is already running.

> >

> > I'm also the parent of two children with autism. I live with

> these issues

> > at work and at home.

> >

> > M. Bothwell

> > Waters & Kraus, LLP

> > 200 Oceangate, Suite 520

> > Long Beach, California 90802

> > Tel: (562) 436-8833

> > Fax: (562) 590-7296

> >

>

> >

> Moria

>

> > Merriweather Autism-

> Mercury@y...

> > <moriam@earthl

> cc:

> > ink.net> Subject: Re: [Autism-

> Mercury] Re: class action

> >

> suit?

> >

> 01/20/2002

>

> > 07:35

> AM

> > Please

> respond

> >

> to

>

> > Autism-

> Mercury

> >

>

> >

>

> >

> > >They're doing individual cases, that's why I went with them. I

> think if

> > you

> > >go with a class action it's the lawyers who make all the money

> from what

> > I've

> > >heard.

> > >

> >

> > if this is correct, it is sure too bad. I think only a class

> action

> > can get compensation for all the injured kids -- and, of course,

> that

> > is only if it is an inclusive enough " class " . just my 2 cents.

> > I have no idea if ANY of the legal stuff will " pan out " . But,

> > personally, I would like it if everyone's therapy (chelation, etc)

> > could be paid for....

> >

> > Moria

> > [not a parent]

> >

> > =======================================================

> >

January 22, 2002

Hi Kathy. Yes, two of my three children have autism. My son, Will, is 9.

My daughter Kate is 7. My youngest, Jillian, 5, is " neuro-typical " , I

guess. Whatever that is! All I know is she is not autistic.

When my son was diagnosed there was no internet. No one we came across

suggested we look at his autism from a medical standpoint. We were told

the usual " no one knows what causes autism, but it's probably genetic. " We

went along with that and set about getting Will the best therapy we could.

For us, that was Lovaas. We were fortunate to get on with the Lovaas

Institute at UCLA and within a couple of months I had hired enough

therapists to provide him with a 35-40 hour a week program. (That was

later reduced as he went to school and did better, and he finally

'graduated' after 5 years with Lovaas). We also did OT/SI twice a week and

private speech therapy and adaptive P.E. Will was diagnosed with autism

shortly before his 3rd birthday. At the time, Kate was 5 months old. She

was diagnosed with autism when she was 2.5 years old, although she was not

as " autistic " as her brother. By then our surprise baby had arrived and

was 8 months old. I simply couldn't enjoy her babyhood at all. I just

wanted to fast forward her to 3 so I could know if she was going to develop

autism or not. After my son was diagnosed in 1995 I spent the next five

years battling with our school district for services for both children and

then battling with the regional center too. To date, we've had two due

process hearings with the district, another one settled at mediation; three

appeals hearings with the regional center and countless IEP and IFSP

meetings. I was exhausted from running the home program, dealing with the

yo-yos at the district, and driving both children to their various

therapies all over the area. I used to think even if Jilly never was

autistic, we'd be lucky if she ever learned to walk since she spent most of

her day in a car seat!

About three years ago I started a support group for our local ASA chapter

to try to meet the needs of the parents of newly diagnosed children with

autism. I didn't want one more family to be told 'no' by the school

district or regional center and not know what to do. Unfortunately, our

group grows in numbers all the time and more people call me at home every

month. Just more confirmation of the increase in the numbers of children

with autism. I went back to work full time last year and was fortunate

that Andy Waters, who I had worked for before, wanted to open a California

office. It was then that I got interested in the mercury/vaccines

connection to autism and started looking at my children in a different

light. Here's my own little study: Will received all of the shots,

including both MMRs. He was " classically " autistic (except he wasn't born

like that). Kate received all of the shots through her first MMR. Then

the rumors about a connection to autism came out and I refused to vaccinate

her further until more research was done. Kate was autistic, but much

milder than her brother. Jilly received the standard shots except that

some of hers did not have thimerosal and she did not get either of the

MMRs. She is not autistic, but does have an articulation problem. All

three were conceived, carried and born in the same house. Kind of makes

you wonder, doesn't it? Would Kate be worse if she'd topped of her heavy

metals load with another MMR? Would Jilly have autism? I am chelating all

of them.

Last year my husband, who is a lawyer, left his position as a partner in a

law firm he'd been with for 16 years and started his own practice in

special education. His entire practice is now representing parents of

children with autism seeking services from their school district or

regional center. I think that is just shocking!

M. Bothwell

Waters & Kraus, LLP

200 Oceangate, Suite 520

Long Beach, California 90802

Tel: (562) 436-8833

Fax: (562) 590-7296

" kathyd "

<kmdunk@myexce To:

l.com> < >

cc:

01/21/2002 Subject: Re: [ ] Re:

11:00 AM CLaire??class action suit?

Please respond

to

,

I did not know you had two kids with autism?? I spoke with you about my

case then it was transferred to texas and then you know the rest..

You and walters and krause were such a help to me. that must be great to

be

working for them with all of this going on. Good luck to you.

kathy dunkelberger

PS: Is till have nto received the results of my son's mercury testing and

it was done on november 6th. This is sooo long..i have re called the docs

office to no avail....i am wondering if it was not messed up for some

reason..ialready paid the dr fees and for the bloodwork so this would be

just awful...

it must be my luck this type of thing always happens..

i am just focusing now on providin gmy son with the best life, education,

and experiences that i can...thanks again for your help...----- Original

Message -----

From: <claire@...>

< >

Sent: Monday, January 21, 2002 1:46 PM

Subject: Re: [ ] Re: CLaire??class action suit?

>

> Well, that may be true, but what would the percentage be and how would it

> relate to the money you have already spent? Perhaps the monies awarded

> would be so huge that each plaintiff's percentage would be adequate, but

> that's hard to say. The only way to know for sure is to know what relief

> is being requested in the particular class action complaint you are

> involved in.

>

> And by the way, I'm not a lawyer here and I'm not offering legal advice.

> As a said before, I'm a mum to two kids with autism and I work as a

> paralegal at Waters & Kraus.

>

> M. Bothwell

> Waters & Kraus, LLP

> 200 Oceangate, Suite 520

> Long Beach, California 90802

> Tel: (562) 436-8833

> Fax: (562) 590-7296

>

> " jsprig2001 "

> <jsprigmore@my To:

> home.net> cc:

> Subject: [ ]

Re:

CLaire??class

> 01/21/2002 action suit?

> 10:19 AM

> Please respond

> to

>

> I was under the impression from my attorneys that there may very

> well be a settlement outside of court and that everyone in the class

> action suit would get a percent of the monies? If this isn't the

> case, I would be interested in going another route. We already have

> spent money on treatment that we don't have. Our only desire in a

> suit is to have enough to care for our son- if the class action suit

> isn't going to do that, I have to find another way.

> Any advice you have would be helpful. Thank you!

> >

> > Moira and list,

> >

> > Individual suits are the only way parents can recoup money for the

> loss of

> > their child(ren) and the subsequent cost of raising them, not to

> mention

> > " pain and suffering " . Class action suits cannot award individual

> damages

> > for personal injury because every case is different and every

> person in the

> > class has different damages. All class action suits can do is go

> forward

> > against certain defendants to establish rulings and precedents

> regarding

> > negligence and liability. But that is important in relation to

> individual

> > suits that come along after. Class action lawsuits also grab the

> attention

> > of the media and can bring certain pressure upon defendants in

> them to

> > modify their products. They are therefore useful, but they are not

> > designed to provide individual relief to the plaintiffs in them.

> People do

> > tend to get excited about the mention of a " class action " lawsuit -

> but its

> > probably true that the only people who benefit monetarily are the

> lawyers

> > that file them.

> >

> > What parents on this list must be aware of, however, is that once

> you make

> > a connection between vaccines and your child's autism, your

> statute has

> > started to run and in some states (California for one) you only

> have a year

> > from that date to file a lawsuit. Therefore, if you suspect

> vaccines may

> > have injured your child, and you think you might want to make a

> claim for

> > damages, you must be aware that your statute is already running.

> >

> > I'm also the parent of two children with autism. I live with

> these issues

> > at work and at home.

> >

> > M. Bothwell

> > Waters & Kraus, LLP

> > 200 Oceangate, Suite 520

> > Long Beach, California 90802

> > Tel: (562) 436-8833

> > Fax: (562) 590-7296

> >

>

> >

> Moria

>

> > Merriweather Autism-

> Mercury@y...

> > <moriam@earthl

> cc:

> > ink.net> Subject: Re: [Autism-

> Mercury] Re: class action

> >

> suit?

> >

> 01/20/2002

>

> > 07:35

> AM

> > Please

> respond

> >

> to

>

> > Autism-

> Mercury

> >

>

> >

>

> >

> > >They're doing individual cases, that's why I went with them. I

> think if

> > you

> > >go with a class action it's the lawyers who make all the money

> from what

> > I've

> > >heard.

> > >

> >

> > if this is correct, it is sure too bad. I think only a class

> action

> > can get compensation for all the injured kids -- and, of course,

> that

> > is only if it is an inclusive enough " class " . just my 2 cents.

> > I have no idea if ANY of the legal stuff will " pan out " . But,

> > personally, I would like it if everyone's therapy (chelation, etc)

> > could be paid for....

> >

> > Moria

> > [not a parent]

> >

> > =======================================================

> >

January 22, 2002

,

Wow..what a stoy!! You are a remarkable woman! What a wonderfulfamily

also!! do you mind if I forward this to two of my friends. One is a

reporter and she just recently did a story on autism and the difficulties

inthe school . Unfortunately Ilive in this very peculiar area and the

letters to the editor support the school..overlooking the fact that children

were in closets and restrained etc.....amazing! I do believe the newswriter

did get manyletters to her from those that have difficulties with the school

however most people are afraid to go public like myself and my son.

Also, Ihave a friend that has a child with a disability and due to his own

experience withthe ed system he went to law school...i think he is just

finishing up...he also represents parents as an advocate and he represented

me for free...he may be interested in talking with your spouse or you if you

have the time.

I am so glad we met! I did not know all of this when i spoke to you at the

law firm. I am actually considering going to be a lawyer and had an

apointment..jsut a few things that I can't seem to get around to do such as

take the lsat1s!! HA HA! Thus, with my schedule I am thinking about a

legal nurse consultant to be a professional witness inthese cases. I have a

certification in psychiatric and mental health nursing as well as TEACCH,

FASTFORWORD and many other credentials working with children with

autism...as an RN with a cert inpsych..I know what is happening in the

schools is so illegal...especially the restraints...i saw them tie a kid up

...first of all he did not need this it was for their

convenience..secondly...they did not have the expertise to use this type of

technicque or the correct restraints if this would be needed..they took

these rubber like exercise bands and tied it to the chair and the desk after

putting the kid in the seat...it was gutwrenching to watch the child

screaming (he also had a movement disorder) while they did this..he was

happy and playing until they tied him then he cried...so it was not used for

protection of self or others..clearly jsut to keep him in the chair...awful

....anyother person including a nurse, parent, police officer..would have

been held liable but i found out that school' sdo their own investigation

and children and youth would not investigate the school...amazing...anyone

else would be in jail...

anyway..gotta go...what do you think about a legal nurse consultant ?? Do

you think it could benefit the kids if I did htis and then gave my name to

attorneys that work in special ed law?? I also have experience testifying

in competency hearings as well as commitment hearings...( I think some of

the educators i have worked with should be committed and that they are not

always competent!!!) HA!

Have a great night and thanks for sharing...

I am still working on getting a letter together to the bar assoc about that

attorney who basically did my son in with that vaccine case...again..i am

jsut amazed at how these people treat children with disabilities..i am so

tired of fighting at times...

kathyd

Re: [Autism-

> > Mercury] Re: class action

> > >

> > suit?

> > >

> > 01/20/2002

> >

> > > 07:35

> > AM

> > > Please

> > respond

> > >

> > to

> >

> > > Autism-

> > Mercury

> > >

> >

> > >

> >

> > >

> > > >They're doing individual cases, that's why I went with them. I

> > think if

> > > you

> > > >go with a class action it's the lawyers who make all the money

> > from what

> > > I've

> > > >heard.

> > > >

> > >

> > > if this is correct, it is sure too bad. I think only a class

> > action

> > > can get compensation for all the injured kids -- and, of course,

> > that

> > > is only if it is an inclusive enough " class " . just my 2 cents.

> > > I have no idea if ANY of the legal stuff will " pan out " . But,

> > > personally, I would like it if everyone's therapy (chelation, etc)

> > > could be paid for....

> > >

> > > Moria

> > > [not a parent]

> > >

> > > =======================================================

> > >

January 22, 2002

Hi :

Hope you are well. Great to see you in LA a few weeks ago. Does

your husband take on cases in Texas? If so I have quite a few folks I would

love to refer his way. We have a shortage of good special ed lawyers here

in Texas and I just know enough in that area to be dangerous, usually after

consulting with , Mayerson and Pete .

Let me know.

My best.

Peacefully,

Jeff Sell

Hitt * * Sell

4309 Yoakum Blvd.

Suite 2000

Houston, TX 77006

713.654.7776

713.654.7789 (fax)

www.HittSell.com

JZSell@... (office)

jzsell@... (home)

832.797.8191 (cell/v-mail)

www.vaccineinjury.org