Vaccine Law

CDC Assumes Liability for Warning of Vaccine Side-effects - Mazur v. Merck & Co., 964 F.2d 1348 (3rd Cir. 1992)

In this products liability action appellants Lisa Mazur and her parents seek compensatory and punitive damages from appellee Merck & Co., Inc. for failure to warn that the use of its vaccine could result in serious neurological illness. The district court entered summary judgment for Merck on the ground that it provided an adequate warning to a learned intermediary, and, in the alternative, exercised reasonable care to inform users of the risks of its vaccine by contractually obligating the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to warn vaccinees directly. Mazur v. Merck & Co., 767 F. Supp. 697 (E.D. Pa. 1991). Because we conclude that Merck satisfied its duty to warn by contractually obligating the CDC to warn vaccinees directly, we will affirm.