"Special Courts," Vaccines, and Autism
The government acknowledged that a link exists between autism and the routine vaccines which one girl from Georgia was given as a child:
The cases are before a special "vaccine court" that doles out cash from a fund Congress set up to pay people injured by vaccines and to protect makers from damages as a way to help ensure an adequate vaccine supply. The burden of proof is lighter than in a traditional court, and is based on a preponderance of evidence. Since the fund started in 1988, it has paid roughly 950 claims _ none for autism.
Although the government didn’t say that the vaccines cause autism, they did concede that, in this single case, the vaccines worsened the girl’s existing condition and caused her to develop symptoms of autism.
We’re wondering about this “special ‘vaccine court.' To our readers: what are some other interesting cases in which “special courts” were set up for a specific type of claim (not military tribunals; that’s too obvious)?
UPDATE: We're asking about interesting cases when "special courts" set up for strange or unorthodox reasons.
Government Concedes Vaccine Injury Case [WaPo]
(45) Comments
Posted In: Washington Post
YOU ARE THE LAW STUDENT; RESEARCH IT. WTF, OVER>!>
Special Courts:
Court of Public Opinion.
Kangaroo Court.
Highly Specialized Court:
Basketball Court.
Tennis Court.
Star Chamber.
FISA Court
Tax Court.
Trade Court.
King's Court.
The court in question is the United States Court of Federal Claims. A trial court that hears monetary claims against the Federal Government. The vaccine cases are handled by an Office of Special Masters that is known as the "Vaccine Court."
courts for special cases:
Bankruptcy Court
Criminal court
small claims court
Juvenile Court
Family Court.
come to think of it, the vast majority of cours (by type) are set up to hear specific claims. SEN is TTT law student and TTT law school.
SEN you are KILLING your job prospects (assumed Clerkship was out of the question).
That has to be the most depressing job in the world. The special masters have to read case after case, day after day, about horrific medical problems caused to children. No thanks.
"The burden of proof is lighter than in a traditional court, and is based on a preponderance of evidence. "
Isn't that the burden of proof in most civil cases?
The special "vaccine court" isn't an independent court at all. It's an office of the Court of Federal Claims.
.
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For the record, ATL is really beginning to push it with this guest-blogging nonsense. Maybe you like SEN. That's great--she has her own blog. My impression, however, was that ATL was not a place for random 1L musings. (Think back to your 1L year; isn't it funny now to think about how many people thought they knew so much but really knew so little?)
If I wanted to listen to a 1L stumble through the law I would ungag the cute girl in my closet... now post something legally accurate!
tough crowd
This is the worst post ever. The question posed at the end sounds like something a professor would ask on the first day of law school and some gunner would say "Bankruptcy Court" and feel smart, yet be immediately hated.
Horrible.
9:52 - try working on a pediatric oncology ward if you want the most depressing job in the world.
I think you had me at ... 9:43
Eagles Court: http://www.sportslawnews.com/archive/articles%201999/Eagles%20Court.htm
Sharon the government conceded that the vaccines "aggravated" Hannah's pre-existing condition, not "worsened".
Agree with 9:57 Lat. Start working real hours and stop sending your paralegal to do associate work.
Bottom-line: how much money will government give me for my retarded kid?
I would rather have autistic kid than kid with Measels, Mumps and Rubella. Toss up on Pertusis.
So is Lat on vacation or something? People come here to read his posts, not some wannabe that isn't talented enough to write her own blog. That is the point of a blog, one person that people like to read what they have to say. If you have more than one person, start another blog and let that person make it or not on their own.
9:52 & 10:52: You think those are depressing? Try doing doc review for a Toxic Tort in Abilene Texas over a HOLIDAY weekend. THey dont even have THREE star hotels in ABilene.
This is ludicrous. There is no substantive evidence of a link between vaccines and autism.
9:56 is correct, that's a normal burden of proof. What idiot wrote that thing?
Guys at my high school used to set up special courts and acknowledge that a link exists between autism and the routine vaccines all the time. It was no big deal.
There is a Nuclear Claims Tribunal that exists to compensate the many people who have cancer or birth defects due to U.S. nuclear testing in Micronesia during the 1950s. You only have to prove causation, which I think is pretty easy. The Tribunal is almost out of money though, and the cancer and birth defect rates in the area continue to be ridiculously high.
10:28, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? Those are the MARSHALL ISLANDS (Bikini Atoll) and are NOT in MICRONESIA.
Kill yourself.
"Although the government didn’t say that the vaccines cause autism, they did concede that. . ."
Hey, SEN, "government" is singular and takes the pronoun "it."
NCT is not even a US court moron
at least she's bonable
MONICA LEWINSKY
IMPEACHMENT
WELFARE "REFORM"
DON'T ASK DON'T TELL
WHITEWATER
NANNYGATE
WACO SLAUGHTER
TRAVELGATE
PAULA JONES
VINCE FOSTER
REPUBLICAN REVOLUTION
GEORGE W. BUSH
IRAQ WAR
10:06(2), I love you!
This case is crap. It is no way shows that vaccines are linked to autism. Her autism-like symptoms were caused by an underlying mitochondrial disease. The court found that the vaccine could have triggered the effects of the disease to kick in. A spokesman for an advocacy group for her disease said that the flu could also cause symptoms to kick in and stated that this in no way showed that vaccines cause autism. But hey, who cares about science when parents can instead bury their heads and believe that some government conspiracy caused the illness in their children. I guess that is a whole lot easier than coming to terms with the fact that fate simply dealt these parents a terribly unlucky and tragic hand. The saddest part of all this is that now some third world countries don’t trust our vaccines and millions of children are therefore dying unnecessarily.
Tax Court is special because it is not an Article III Court but is still uses "court" in its title. Does anyone know of another federal court with "court" in its title that is not an Article III court?
UPDATE: We're asking about interesting cases when "special courts" set up for strange or unorthodox reasons.
Embarrassing.
"interesting cases when "special courts" set up for strange or unorthodox reasons."
OK, here's one:
Special Court: US Senate
Interesting Case: Trial of William Jefferson Clinton
Strange Reason: Impeachment by the House of Representatives
10:11 and 11:32 --
There are several studies linking autism and thimerosal-containing vaccines, including an unpublished study by the CDC in 2000 and several published studies in peer-reviewed scientific journals by the Geiers (and others) using the government's own vaccine safety database. There are lots of other studies suggesting a relationship, such as the similarity between autism and mercury exposure and a study showing that rats developed ausitm-like behaviors after receiving thimerosal. To be fair, there are also studies going the other way.
The existence of the mitochondrial disease in the Poling girl in no way exonerates vaccines because mitochondrial dysfunction is a common feature of autism. Several studies have found biomarkers consistent with abnormalities in mitochondrial metabolism in autistic children.
As you might guess, I'm a father of an autistic child.
ROBERT DOWNEY JUNIOR IN BLACK FACE... THAT IS NEWS!
12:10 -- I am sorry to hear that. Can the child count cards like Rainman?
This post is blatantly misleading and hugely irresponsible.
The cited article says "Government health officials have conceded that childhood vaccines worsened a rare, underlying disorder that ultimately led to autism-like symptoms in a Georgia girl"
Based on that SEN claims that "The Government acknowledged that a link exists between autism and the routine vaccines which one girl from Georgia was given as a child" - WTF?? The government did not acknowledge that, and would not because no such link has been established. For a thorough debunking of the vaccine-autism link myth by government health officials, see
http://www.cdc.gov/od/science/iso/concerns/mmr_autism_factsheet.htm
This unfounded fear decreases vaccination rates and significantly harms the public health. I don't know who this guest blogger is, but someone needs to be checking her posts before they go up. This lowers the credibility of the whole blog.
"The burden of proof is lighter than in a traditional court, and is based on a preponderance of evidence."
All civil claims use a "preponderance of evidence" standard.
The vaccine cases before the COFC involve a statutory "listing" of illnesses that are known/proven to be caused or triggered by any of the federally-mandated child vaccinations. Per the statute, a claimant can qualify for compensation by proving that (1) one of the table illnesses set in (2) within a defined time period after the vaccination. If so, then the DOJ has the burden of proof that some other factor (not the vaccine) caused the injury. If a "table" illness cannot be established (either because the illness is not a recognized table illness or there is insufficient temporal connection), then the claimant bears the full burden of proving causation. In the latter case, the burden is consistent with a tort cause of action.
The DoJ is surprisingly militant about defending against off-table claims.
"The burden of proof is lighter than in a traditional court, and is based on a preponderance of evidence."
All civil claims use a "preponderance of evidence" standard.
The vaccine cases before the COFC involve a statutory "listing" of illnesses that are known/proven to be caused or triggered by any of the federally-mandated child vaccinations. Per the statute, a claimant can qualify for compensation by proving that (1) one of the table illnesses set in (2) within a defined time period after the vaccination. If so, then the DOJ has the burden of proof that some other factor (not the vaccine) caused the injury. If a "table" illness cannot be established (either because the illness is not a recognized table illness or there is insufficient temporal connection), then the claimant bears the full burden of proving causation. In the latter case, the burden is consistent with a tort cause of action.
The DoJ is surprisingly militant about defending against off-table claims.
FACT: Vaccines harm less than 100 children per year.
FACT: Diseases prevented by vaccines kill or maim millions of children everyear.
FACT: Retarded kid is, marginally, better than dead kid.
OPINION: Government should pay value for retarded kids.
FACT: Retarded kids are worth $27.83 (2007 dollars).
11:40- The Court of Federal Claims is not an Article III court.
The Marshall Islands are, in fact, in the region of the world known as Micronesia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micronesia
There is a seperate country, known as the Federated States of Micronesia, of which of course the Marshall Islands are not a part.
SEN...did you even read the article? The third paragraph reads: "The government 'has not conceded that vaccines cause autism,' said Linda Renzi, the lawyer representing federal officials, who have consistently maintained that childhood shots are safe."
Seriously, you should really be more careful about posts to which you sign your name. Every time a summer associate candidate interviews with me, I run a few internet searches and see what comes up (Google, Facebook, etc.). Evidence of complete inattention to detail isn't something I'm likely to overlook.
LAT, please fire SEN, hire L2L or FRAT STUD or any other person who actually has something funny to say.
As a law student currently working on a research paper, I don't want to be distracted by more research paper material when I try and get sidetracked by ATL.