Robert Fletcher, was a healthy baby, when he was first given the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination. He is now completely dependent upon his mother, and is unable to stand, talk or feed himself and frequently suffers from epileptic fits.
Mrs Fletcher has been fighting 13-years for compensation for her son’s illness. However the Department of Health denied any link between his illness and the controversial jab but a medical panel ruled against this last week.
This is thought to be the first compensation award granted for the MMR vaccine since 1998. Medical legal experts are now worried that this could open flood gates to thousands of compensation claims like this one. Leaving the public appaled by their reaction.
One member on the Telegraph website wrote: “Recognition, not money is all that parents of those children, whom were damaged by the MMR, have been seeking for years.” Another added, “I find the comments by the doctors truly vile.”
Nadine Dorries, a Conservative MP said:
“If an independent panel has reached the conclusion that there has been a link between the MMR vaccine and the brain damage suffered by the boy in this case, then it is fair to assume that there could be as many as thousands of children and parents in the same position.”
Mrs Fletcher who cares for her son round-the-clock, also set up the group JABS that helps around 2,000 families who also claim that their child was affected by MMR, and who have struggled to win compensation.