In the case of Dustin Barton, the government fought so long that the Albuquerque boy did not live to see the resolution of his claim.
As an infant, he had suffered seizures and brain damage after a DPT shot. But Dustin had a congenital neurological condition, known as periventricular leukomalacia, that the government blamed for his injuries.
His mother, Lori Barton, filed the claim in November 1991. The case dragged on for years. Barton told friends and family that she suspected the government was waiting for Dustin to die -- noting that it would be cheaper for the program to pay the death benefit of $250,000 than to buy an annuity to cover lifetime care.
Dustin eventually did die of a seizure, nearly six years into the case, but the government continued to fight. Finally in May 2000, 8 1/2 years after the petition was filed, the family won a ruling that Dustin's injuries were vaccine-related.
Not ready to give up, Justice Department lawyers considered an appeal. Then they offered a deal: They would drop the challenge if the Bartons agreed the decision would remain unpublished. This meant it would not be sent to legal databases, such as Westlaw, where attorneys for other petitioners could see it.
Lori Barton, who has since died, described her reaction at a congressional hearing in December 2001: "To me, it was extortion." But Barton, who then was seriously ill and had borrowed thousands of dollars to pay expert witnesses, took the deal.
In a statement to The Times, the Justice Department said it had made similar deals "on very rare occasions." It happens when the government "disagrees with a decision but believes that settlement is fair and in both parties' interests."
Family Finances Ruined
Rachel Zuhlke's claim was filed in September 1992. The government blamed her brain injuries on complications from a strep infection she had about the same time she got her DPT shot.
Janet Zuhlke said Rachel's illness contributed to the breakup of her marriage. She also lost her job as a dental assistant because of frequent absences to deal with Rachel's medical emergencies. Even with health insurance, the family's finances were wrecked.
"We had a lot of hot dogs," Zuhlke said. "We had two other children that went without many, many, many things ... because I couldn't afford them."
Her case moved at a crawl, getting repeatedly reassigned to different special masters, and from one Justice Department lawyer to another, who repeatedly got extensions to complete filings in the case.
