On February 2, William Yates Hazlehurst (Yates) became the first and only vaccine-injured person with an autism diagnosis to reach the jury since the enactment of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Act of 1986 (the Vaccine Act).
In a legal battle that spanned two decades, the medical malpractice case filed in the Madison County Circuit Court in Tennessee saw Yates' attorneys argue that the clinic and the physician who administered his vaccines, including the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine on February 8, 2001, should be held liable for medical malpractice for the neurological injuries he developed after vaccination. (Related: The MMR vaccine-autism connection: CDC corruption exposed.)
The jury decided in favor of the physician, whom Yates' father said failed to adequately inform the parents of the risks of vaccinating him while he had an active ear infection.
The case has exposed significant flaws in a system that is designed to protect children from vaccine injuries and at the same time shield pharmaceutical companies and physicians from liability for these types of injuries.
The Hazlehurst case was a medical malpractice case against the physician who administered the pediatric vaccines that, in the opinion of top experts, sent the child spiraling into severe, non-verbal autism.
Originally filed in 2003, the case took 19 years to find its day in court because of a separate case involving Yates' injury, which had to work its way through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.
By the time it was finally heard, the trial exposed alarming evidence about autism and vaccines as well as the low standard of care practiced by physicians administering them. It also showed the financial conflicts of interests between pharmaceutical companies that manufactured the vaccines and government agencies that have been entrusted by the public regarding vaccine safety.
The National Institute of Mental Health said that autism is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn and behave. Symptoms can be severe and usually manifest before a child turns three, which also coincides with the age they receive most of their childhood vaccines. (Related: Autism, mercury, aluminum and vaccine-induced encephalopathy.)
There is also increasing evidence that indicates a significant portion of individuals with autism have other diseases that make them more vulnerable, including mitochondrial dysfunction, gastrointestinal abnormalities and abnormalities in the regulation of their immune systems.
The malpractice case showed that vaccines can indeed cause autism in children with a mitochondrial disorder and showed that the Vaccine Act, which was designed to ensure informed consent and compensation to injured children, is a failure mostly due to its unenforceability.
Former expert witness signed sworn affidavit linking vaccinations to autism
Pediatric neurologist Dr. Andrew Zimmerman originally served as an expert medical witness for the government, defending vaccines in federal court. He testified that vaccines do not cause autism in specific patients.
However, he has also signed a sworn affidavit that he told lawyers for the Department of Justice about "exceptions in which vaccinations could cause autism" during a group of 5,000 vaccine-autism cases being heard in court in June 2007.
"I explained that in a subset of children, vaccine-induced fever and immune stimulation did cause regressive brain disease with features of autism spectrum disorder," he said based on "scientific advances" as well as his own experience with patients.
As the government and vaccine industry's own expert, Zimmerman's scientific opinion stood to change the vaccine-autism debate. But that did not materialize because he was quickly fired as an expert witness after the DOJ lawyers learned of his position.
Visit AustismTruthNews.com for more information about how vaccines could cause developmental problems in children.
Watch the video below to know more about the sheer number of court cases from vaccine injuries.
This video is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
CNN Helps Autism Debacle Blow Up in Government's Face; Vaccine-Autism Link No Longer in Question.
Federal government has paid out vaccine autism compensation awards to 83 families,
Key CDC scientist who downplayed vaccine-autism connection is now fleeing from justice.
Researching genetics as a cause of autism - An expensive attempt to marginalize vaccine causation.
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