|
|
Thimerosal Class Action Lawsuits Information
Thimerosal is still making headlines after years of debate.
Used as a preservative in vaccines, thimerosal has been linked to autism and
other neurodevelopmental disorders in children. Thimerosal carries risk of
serious adverse effects because it contains mercury, which can be neurotoxic at
certain levels. Behind uranium, mercury is the second most toxic substance known
to man. The use of thimerosal in vaccines was a practice that began in the
1930s.
It was not until 1999 that thimerosal began to be eliminated from vaccines. In
1998, thimerosal had already been banned from over the counter drugs. By this
time, there was still an absence of definitive information regarding the use of
thimerosal containing vaccines and safety among children. Although various
studies have denied evidence of autism and thimerosal, critics remain
unconvinced.
By looking at the figures, autism was diagnosed in just 1 in 10,000 children
before 1980. In 2002, the National Institutes of Health reported autism then
affected 1 in 250 children. By following the present government recommendations,
children receive over 30 vaccinations, which is also an increase from over a
decade ago. In May 2003, the Committee on Government Reform reported on its
three-year investigation concluding, "there's no question that mercury does not
belong in vaccines."
Thimerosal Side Effects
Since an alarming FDA report was issued in 1999, a number of
investigations have been launched to examine the possibility of "thimerosal
autism". The FDA's findings were the result of an earlier demand that
manufacturers of childhood vaccines disclose the amount of mercury the
vaccinations contained. The links between thimerosal and autism were first
suspected when the FDA received the shocking news that children routinely
received pediatric vaccines whose mercury levels exceeded the amount considered
safe for adults.
Many people believe that certain types of developmental problems, including
thimerosal autism, attention deficit disorder, and hyperactivity, stem from
overexposure to the mercury contained in thimerosal. Thimerosal was invented in
the 1930s and serves as a preservative in vaccines, preventing bacterial growth.
Although autism existed prior to the use of mercury in vaccinations, suspicions
of a type of thimerosal autism arose as researchers examined the numbers of
diagnoses relative to the prevalence of thimerosal-containing vaccinations.
"Autism once was really, really rare," according to plaintiff's attorney Michael
Gallagher. "The incident rate was once one in 10,000 births. Now it's 40 per
10,000." The rate reaches as high as one in 150 births in some areas of the
country, including California and New Jersey. The use of thimerosal increased in
the 1990's with the addition of new vaccines and changes to the vaccination
schedule. The amount of mercury-containing vaccines increased, and the number of
what plaintiffs suspect to be thimerosal autism cases increased as well.
Parents who suspect that their child's developmental problems-including the
so-called thimerosal autism-stem from their overexposure to mercury in vaccines
may wish to contact an attorney. If a child does indeed suffer thimerosal
autism, the drug's manufacturers and distributors may be held liable for the
costs associated with medical care, pain and suffering, and punitive damages.
More Thimerosal Information
Starting in the late 1990s, the families of a number of
children diagnosed with autism have filed thimerosal lawsuits against
manufacturers of thimerosal and childhood vaccines containing thimerosal. The
thimerosal lawsuits seek financial restitution for medical expenses, lost wages,
pain and suffering, and punitive damages. Defendants named in recent thimerosal
lawsuits include seven different vaccine makers as well as five companies that
produce the preservative.
The basis for thimerosal lawsuits lies in the connections drawn between exposure
to high amounts of mercury and development of autism. A Center for Disease
Control (CDC) report cited by some parents filing thimerosal lawsuits shows that
originally, a study conducted by the CDC found that children exposed to 62.5
mcgs of mercury through vaccines in the first three months of life were 2.48
times more likely to develop autism. In a move that angered many plaintiffs in
thimerosal lawsuits, researcher Thomas Verstraeten added more children to the
epidemiological study, bringing the correlation down to 1.69 times. Verstraeten
was subsequently hired as a consultant by vaccine manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline.
The first of the thimerosal lawsuits was filed following an FDA report in 1999
that stated "infants who received thimerosal-containing vaccines at several
visits may be exposed to more mercury than recommended by federal guidelines for
total mercury exposure." Many thimerosal lawsuits point out the shocking results
of a 1997 FDA order for the drug companies to reveal the amount of thimerosal
included in their vaccines-the levels of mercury found in many pediatric
vaccines exceeded the amounts considered safe for adults.
To date, numerous individual thimerosal lawsuits have been filed, in addition to
a class action thimerosal lawsuit designed to force pharmaceutical companies to
investigate whether thimerosal indeed causes autism and other forms of brain
damage in children. The media attention generated by the rising number of
thimerosal lawsuits has helped parents learn of the potential risks of childhood
vaccines. Although the FDA ordered manufacturers of childhood vaccines to stop
including thimerosal in 1999, there has as yet been no recall of vaccines
containing mercury, and those stocks are still available to doctors.
For parents who believe their children were adversely affected by childhood
vaccinations, thimerosal lawsuits provide an opportunity to demand a full
investigation. In addition, individuals filing thimerosal lawsuits may be able
to recover some of the enormous financial costs associated with raising an
autistic child. To discuss the purposes of thimerosal lawsuits, you may wish to
contact an attorney who has experience representing plaintiffs in thimerosal
lawsuits.
For more free legal information on known dangerous drugs and Class Action Lawsuits, please use the
links below:
|
