Cases in Vaccine Court — Legal Battles over Vaccines and Autism

Do childhood vaccines cause autism? More than 5000 families have filed claims with the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Stephen Sugarman discusses the autism cases. Do childhood vaccines cause autism? This scientific question has now become a legal one — perhaps inevitable in our society. Some families with autistic children are pursuing legal channels in an effort to prove that vaccines are responsible for their children's condition. Most of them allege that the cause is the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal, which was formerly used in many vaccines in the United States and elsewhere. Others argue that the culprit is the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine itself or perhaps the vaccine in combination with thimerosal. Although most experts have concluded that there is no proof of . . .