Clifford J. Shoemaker, a lawyer for petitioners, said if the government softened its stance, the worst that would happen is that a "family that needs some money to deal with their profoundly injured child is going to get it."
"Is that such a terrible thing?" he asked.
Some observers have warned that the government's uncompromising attitude could backfire.
Although the law directs all claims to vaccine court, it allows those who disagree with a ruling -- or have waited more than 240 days -- to sue vaccine makers in civil court. So far, few have.
But by their tough stance, officials may be inviting more civil suits, Rep. Waxman said. "The whole idea of the compensation system is to be generous so they [petitioners] won't want to go to court."
Lost on a Technicality
Vaccine court officials were none too generous with Veronica Spohn.
Her parents claimed that a DPT shot caused their infant daughter to suffer brain damage. But they lost on a technicality: Their petition was filed a few hours late.
Although the vaccine compensation program was billed as more flexible, its three-year statute of limitations is draconian compared with rules of civil courts in all 50 states, which place no deadlines on the filing of injury claims for minors.
In the Spohn case, the doctor's records were a mess, alternately giving July 17 and July 19, 1992, as the date of the fateful shot. The family's lawyer filed the petition July 18, 1995, thinking he had made the deadline with a day to spare. In fact, he was a day late.
Seizing on the error, the Justice Department moved for dismissal. Special Master Elizabeth Wright concurred, citing the Spohns' "failure to use due diligence in pursuing the claim."
It was "very much an injustice," said Veronica's mother, Karen Spohn, a nurse in Butler, Pa. "I had a normal child, and all of a sudden in one day, within hours of the vaccine ... she became a child with a disability" who is "going to need assistance for the rest of her life."
"They didn't rule that she didn't have damage. All they did was say, you filed 12 hours too late -- too bad on you."
Spohn said she was too heartsick at that point to look into filing a civil lawsuit.
"Emotionally I couldn't deal with" continuing the fight, said Spohn, who preferred to "accept what you're dealt with and go through life."
Lengthy Legal Battle
