The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case that could have significantly changed vaccine injury lawsuits across America.
In the case of W.J. v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, parents wanted to sue after their child suffered a vaccine injury. However, under the Vaccine Injury Act, all lawsuits must be filled within 36 months.
The unnamed parents made the argument that the tolling provision, which would extend the statute of limitations, should apply in their case. That would give them six years to file a lawsuit.
If the Supreme Court had heard the case and ruled in favor of the parents' ability to sue, it could have allowed other Americans to get more time to sue over vaccine injuries.
The Case
This case centered around "W.J.," represented by his parents, R.J. and A.J.
W.J. received the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine at about 1 year old. A year later, W.J. was diagnosed with a speech delay. Yet another year had passed, and W.J. now had an autism diagnosis.
W.J. also ended up experienced immune-related blood disorders, leading to hospitalization, before doctors told his parents he had a chromosomal condition called an Xq28 duplication.
While the parents ended up attempting to file for compensation under the Vaccine Act and through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, they were told it was too late because of the statute of limitations.
"The Federal Circuit Panel Decision in this matter, if left to stand, will unfairly affect some of the least powerful, and most vulnerable, among us—those with legal disabilities," the petitioners wrote in a filing. "The Panel Decision is not only clearly erroneous, but also fundamentally unjust."
The Federal Circuit agreed with Health and Human Services that the tolling provision did not apply in this case.
"We, of course are disappointed by the SCOTUS decision," a representative for the plaintiffs told Newsweek. "We cited a law which clearly states that the statute of limitations for all petitions in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims from people with legal disabilities is tolled until six years after their disability ceases. Apparently now this applies to everyone except vaccine injury petitioners. Is that fair and equitable equal justice for all?"
Newsweek reached out to Health and Human Services for comment via email.
Larger Vaccine Concerns
The issue of vaccine injury compensation has received increased scrutiny since the pandemic.
While the vaccines approved for COVID-19 are predicted to have saved nearly 20 million lives, rare side effects and concerns over their rapid approval continue to be discussed by the public, especially among some conservatives.
During a conversation with podcast host Joe Rogan, Vice President-elect JD Vance said he knows a senator with "serious" COVID-19 vaccine effects that impact him to this day.
"I have a Senate colleague who doesn't want to talk about it but worries that it's permanently affected his sense of balance, dizziness and vertigo, and it happens," Vance said.
During the conversation, Rogan said many feel reluctant to talk about their side effects for fear of being labeled an anti-vaxxer.
"You're not allowed to question it," Rogan said. "You're not allowed to discuss it. People know people who have been vaccine injured, particularly people on the left. They're very reluctant to discuss it....They're scared of being labeled an anti-vaxxer."
The most common side effects for the COVID-19 vaccine include pain and swelling at the injection site, with others reporting fatigue, headache and muscle pain.
In rare cases, patients can display serious adverse reactions. Anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction that can cause breathing problems, has been reported along with a few other serious conditions, according to the CDC.
Guillain-Barré syndrome is a side effect that takes place when your immune system attacks healthy nerve cells, leading to muscle weakness and paralysis in some cases.
Among the other rare side effects include myocarditis and pericarditis, which is a condition where your heart muscle or its surrounding tissue becomes inflamed.
Thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome has also been linked to the COVID-19 vaccine. In these cases, patients experienced blood clots or increased blood clotting.
"Acute and severe side effects are rare, and typically track with known allergies to components of the vaccine," Joshua LaBaer, a professor and executive director at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, told Newsweek.
"Like everything in medicine, it comes down to a careful risk/benefit analysis. In the case of vaccination, there is strong data to argue that the benefits outweigh the risks."
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