Parents Claiming Vaccine Caused Daughter’s Autism Win Case

By Anastacia Mott Austin

Hannah Poling was a precocious, intelligent, lively little girl…until the day she received a series of nine vaccinations.

Her parents, Jon and Terry, a neurologist and a nurse, claim that the day Hannah received five shots containing nine vaccines for childhood illnesses, their world changed forever. Hannah almost immediately began having a high fever and seizures, and within 48 hours, had stopped eating or responding to any stimuli.

"Suddenly my daughter was no longer there," said Hannah’s mother Terry.

The family’s doctor first said that the reaction was nothing to worry about, but when the symptoms continued, the child was diagnosed with autism.

The Polings later filed a case with the federal vaccine victims’ fund, claiming that their daughter’s autism was caused by the vaccines.

Hannah had also been diagnosed with a mitochondrial disorder that experts say may have contributed to her autism, or that the disorder may have created a weakness in her system that left her vulnerable to neurological injury caused by the vaccines.

The Polings made no claims about what, specifically, in the vaccines made their child ill – they just knew that she was "normal" before the day of her shots, and forever injured afterward.

Their case had been grouped with a number of others in a similar category and was due to proceed to court. However, the government panel involved decided that the Poling’s case had enough merit to admit that vaccines caused their daughter’s autism, and decided to settle with the family before the case got to court.

"We are very pleased with the government's decision," said Dr. Jon Poling, Hannah’s father, to the press. "It has been eight difficult and heartbreaking years since our daughter's injury."

While those who feel that vaccines cause autism feel vindicated by the decision, experts are quick to point out that this case is an exception, not a precedent. Claims can be made against the vaccine injury fund by those who have an underlying, pre-existing condition that is aggravated or worsened by receiving vaccines. Hannah’s mitochondrial condition puts her in this category, and the panel in the case was very specific that it was this condition which, combined with the vaccines, caused her autism.

"The government has made absolutely no statement indicating that vaccines are a cause of autism," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during a telephone call with the press. "This does not represent anything other than a very specific situation and a very sad situation as far as the family of the affected child," added Dr. Gerberding.

However, the fact that the vaccine injury fund panel conceded that vaccines had at least contributed to a case of autism does set a precedent, and others arguing their own cases may feel that the decision regarding Hannah Poling will help them. If the panel can agree that vaccines are even a contributing factor in causing autism in some cases, this will be seen as a step forward for those who are fighting to prove their own children were similarly injured.

The Polings won’t even go so far as to say that all vaccines are bad, just that in their particular case, their daughter did not react well to them.

The Polings did urge the government to remove thimerosal, the mercury-containing ingredient used as a preservative in some vaccines, to be completely removed from all future vaccines. While thimerosal was removed from most childhood vaccines in 2002, it still remains in some shots, including almost all flu shots.

Autism affects one in 150 children, a sharp rise over percentages in previous generations.