Iowa Bill Advances Requiring Drug Companies to Waive Immunity from Design Defect Vaccine Injury Lawsuits

An Iowa House of Representatives subcommittee advanced a bill that would prevent the sale, distribution and administration of vaccines in the state unless vaccine manufacturers have waived immunity from being sued in civil court for product design defect. The bill requires drug companies to waive immunity from vaccine design defect claims even though blanket immunity was given to vaccine manufacturers by U.S. Supreme Court judges in 2011 when the Court majority ignored the legislative history of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) passed by Congress in November 1986 that gave drug companies partial liability protection but held them liable for product design defect of federally recommended childhood vaccines.^{1 2}

Product liability lawsuits generally stem from three causes of action, problems with design, manufacturing, and/or marketing. Product design defect lawsuits allege that the injury was incurred due to the way the product was designed. A design defect claim arises when a manufacturer was aware that the particular way that a product is designed is inherently dangerous even when it used as intended, but they manufacture and market the product nonetheless without making it less likely to cause harm.³

The Original 1986 Act Did Not Protect Vaccine Makers from Design Defect Lawsuits

The original 1986 Act did not protect vaccine manufactures from liability for all vaccine injury lawsuits. Rather, the 1986 Act allowed drug companies to be sued for vaccine design defects when there was evidence that the vaccine could have been made safer. However, in 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court in Bruesewitz v Wyeth, eliminated all civil liability from vaccine manufacturers for product design defect claims.⁴

Iowa state Representative Charley Thomson introduced the bill (House File 712) that would return civil liability for design defect to vaccine manufacturers distributing vaccines administered in the state. Rep. Thomson said:

While vaccines are a tremendous medical advance, there has to be some control for toxic products that get into the stream of commerce. The federal system, pretty clearly, is not working right now. If there’s a state solution to a broken system on the federal level, let’s see if we can find it. But let’s not make the problem worse in the meantime.

Supporters of the bill state that the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) created under the 1986 Act often fails to compensate vaccine injury victims and provides for a lengthy and adversarial process before a decision is made. Iowa state Senator Doug Campbell believes that the VICP denies Iowans their due process rights.⁵ The bill advanced out of the subcommittee along party lines.⁶

The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) advocates for the 1986 Act being returned to its original form that included design defect liablity for vaccine manufacturers and supports Iowa HF 721. The NVIC Advocacy Portal, which lists vaccine-related bills pending in every state, includes the following statement about HF 721:

NVIC SUPPORTS HF 712 because it protects individuals from liability free vaccines that can cause injury or even death and gives individuals who choose to take a vaccine an avenue to seek compensation for any injuries that may arise as a result of the vaccine administration. Vaccines, just like all pharmaceutical products, carry a risk of injury and even death and should be held to the same product liability standards as all other pharmaceutical drugs. 

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