MMR Vaccine Settlement – $43 Million

The Kansas City Star reports on a MMR vaccine settlement of note. We have previously commented on this vitally important program.

In what is thought to be one of the largest such settlements ever, a quadriplegic boy has been awarded $43.1 million under a government vaccine injury program.

Seven-year-old Mario Arturo Rodriguez, who once lived in Kansas City and received a vaccination at Children’s Mercy Hospital, will receive the money under a settlement reached this week through the no-fault National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Mario’s case alleged that he became a quadriplegic after receiving a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine at Children’s Mercy Hospital’s pediatric clinic on Jan. 25, 2000. The hospital was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Under the guidelines of the program, the litigation was filed against the Department of Health and Human Services.

According to statistics on the department’s Web site, in fiscal year 2006 the fund paid out a total of $38.2 million in cases involving 47 awards. The program was established in 1988 to ensure an adequate supply of vaccines, stabilize vaccine costs and establish an accessible forum for those injured by vaccines. A small percentage of children have serious reactions to vaccinations.