Federal Judge Says Sufficient Issues of Fact in Texas Polio Vaccine Lawsuit

BEAUMONT, Texas - A federal judge denied Pfizer Inc.'s motion for summary judgment on Sept. 29, saying newspaper articles supplied by the plaintiff were sufficient enough to raise material issues of fact in the Texas woman's claim against the manufacturer for an allegedly contaminated polio vaccine she received as a child. Hicks, et al. v. Aventis, et al. No. 1:04-cv-00201-MAC (E.D. Texas).

Karen and Benny Hicks say Karen participated in the Jefferson County Medical Society's Project XP in 1962, which vaccinated the public against polio. Karen says that at 5 years old, she consumed three separate sugar cube vaccinations and …