World Autism Awareness 2003 Families win lawsuit over MMR vaccine

April 4, 2008

Friday, March 14, 2003

Families win lawsuit over MMR vaccine

OSAKA (Kyodo) The government and a research center affiliated with

Osaka University were handed a court order Thursday to pay a total of

155 million yen to the families of two children who died or suffered

side effects after receiving the MMR vaccine.

The vaccine, which covers measles, mumps and rubella, has since been

banned because of its high side effects rate.

The families of three children who were given the vaccine between

1989 and 1991 had sued the government and Osaka University's Research

Institute for Microbial Diseases for a total 350 million yen in

damages, claiming that their children had developed aseptic

meningitis as a result.

The Osaka District Court stated that the institute produced the

vaccine via a method different from that submitted to the health

ministry and was the likely reason for the ensuing problems.

Presiding Judge Shinichi Yoshikawa ruled that vaccinations are

procedures " that the state actively carries out from the perspective

of protecting society. "

He added that the government neglected its responsibility over the

supervision of vaccine manufacturers and for ensuring that they

follow the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law.

It is the first time that a court has ruled on a damages case related

to the vaccine, whose side effects have affected about 1,800 people

nationwide.

The court ruled that the death of the son of a couple in Suita, Osaka

Prefecture, and the serious brain damage suffered by 13-year-old Hana

Ueno, from Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture, were caused by the MMR vaccine.

It ruled, however, that the child of a couple in Hyogo Prefecture

died after contracting influenza.

Legal experts said that the ruling, which accorded the government a

hefty supervisory responsibility over vaccinations, could have a

great impact on future health administration and medicine-related

lawsuits.

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