Supreme Court Ruling On Vaccines Keeps Kids Safe

Hans von Spakovsky / February 22, 2011

I don’t usually feel a personal connection to a Supreme Court decision, but as the parent of three children, I was elated (and relieved) to see the Court come to the right conclusion today in Bruesewitz v. Wyeth.  The Court’s holding that state tort suits against vaccine manufacturers are preempted by federal law is absolutely crucial to maintaining the continued availability of the many vaccines that protect the lives and health of tens of millions of Americans, particular school-age children like mine.

The parents of Hannah Bruesewitz sued the manufacturer of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP) vaccine in state court, claiming it caused her medical problems, including “development delay.”  The Supreme Court held that their defective design claims were preempted by the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986.  That Act was passed by Congress because an explosion of state tort lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers was driving them out of business, imperiling the supply of childhood and other vaccines in the United States.  In fact, as the Court pointed out, this destabilization of the vaccine market drove two of the three domestic manufacturers of DTP out of the market, and the remaining manufacturer (the target of this lawsuit), estimated that its potential tort liability exceeded its annual sales by a factor of 200. (more…)