WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The ability
of families to sue vaccine producers for faulty design could lead
to a rise in litigation and force manufacturers to abandon the
market, which, in turn, could cause disastrous public health
consequences in the United States, assert Daniel J. Gage, Assistant
Director and Alison R. Perencevich, Legislative Assistant, at the
American Academy of Pediatrics’ Department of Federal Affairs.
Writing in the February 8, 2011 issue of FDLI’s Food and Drug
Policy Forum (Volume 1, Number 3), the authors take a close
look at this emerging health care liability question: “Should the
National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 Allow Families of
Children Injured by Vaccines to Sue Manufacturers Directly for
Design Defect Claims?”
Gage and Perencevich argue that the Supreme Court should uphold
the ruling in Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, Inc. which held that the
National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 preempts design
defect claims. They also recommend that policymakers review the
entire statute, which, they maintain, can both protect
manufacturers from uncontrolled litigation and compensate families
fairly for any injuries caused by defective vaccine. In their
article, the authors stress the importance of primary care
providers in vaccine administration and suggest that they receive
adequate reimbursement for their services.
FDLI’s Food and Drug Policy Forum is a twice-a-month,
peer-reviewed, digital publication on current food and drug policy
topics. Posed in the form of a question, each issue provides
subscribers and purchasers with pertinent background information,
relevant research, discussion of central issues, relevant resources
and policy recommendations. The views, opinions and statements
expressed in the Policy Forum are those of the authors. The
Food and Drug Law Institute neither contributes to nor endorses
Policy Forum articles. As a nonprofit 501 (c) (
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