Family to Receive $1.5M in First-Ever Vaccine-Autism Court Award

September 9, 2010

September 9, 2010 2:14 PM

The first court award in a vaccine-autism claim is a big one. CBS News has

learned the family of Hannah Poling will receive more than $1.5 million dollars

for her life care; lost earnings; and pain and suffering.

Hannah was described as normal, happy and precocious in her first 18 months.

Then, in July 2000, she was vaccinated against nine diseases in one doctor's

visit: measles, mumps, rubella, polio, varicella, diphtheria, pertussis,

tetanus, and Haemophilus influenzae.

Afterward, her health declined rapidly. She developed high fevers, stopped

eating, didn't respond when spoken to, began showing signs of autism, and began

having screaming fits. In 2002, Hannah's parents filed an autism claim in

federal vaccine court. Five years later, the government settled the case before

trial and had it sealed. It's taken more than two years for both sides to agree

on how much Hannah will be compensated for her injuries.

In acknowledging Hannah's injuries, the government said vaccines aggravated an

unknown mitochondrial disorder Hannah had which didn't " cause " her autism, but

" resulted " in it. It's unknown how many other children have similar undiagnosed

mitochondrial disorder. All other autism " test cases " have been defeated at

trial. Approximately 4,800 are awaiting disposition in federal vaccine court.

Time Magazine summed up the relevance of the Poling case in 2008: ...(T)here's

no denying that the court's decision to award damages to the Poling family puts

a chink -- a question mark -- in what had been an unqualified defense of vaccine

safety with regard to autism. If Hannah Poling had an underlying condition that

made her vulnerable to being harmed by vaccines, it stands to reason that other

children might also have such vulnerabilities. "

Then-director of the Centers for Disease Control Gerberding (who is now

President of Merck Vaccines) stated: " The government has made absolutely no

statement indicating that vaccines are a cause of autism. This does not

represent anything other than a very specific situation and a very sad situation

as far as the family of the affected child. "

Read the newly-released decision on Hannah Poling's compensation.

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