Court Excludes Experts Who Pushed Thimerosal-Autism Link

BALTIMORE - A Maryland court has excluded several plaintiffs' experts who presented evidence that thimerosal-containing vaccines cause autism, determining that the methodologies and conclusions have been rejected by numerous "highly regarded" members of the scientific community. Blackwell v. Sigma Aldrich Inc., No. 24-C-04-004829 (Md. Cir. Ct., Baltimore City).

The Dec. 21 decision to exclude plaintiffs' causation experts was released by Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Stuart R. Berger, who relied heavily on a 2004 report published by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) that denied the alleged link between thimerosal and autism.

The plaintiffs experts - Dr. Boyd Haley, Dr. Richard …