Aventis Pasteur, Inc. v. Skevofilax

On 14 April 2003, Helen and John Skevofílax (Respondents here), individually and as next friends of their eight-year-old son, Michael, filed suit in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City seeking damages from Defendants (Petitioners here), several corporations engaged in the manufacture of pediatric vaccines and the ingredients incorporated in the vaccines. 1 The Plaintiffs-Respondents claimed that Michael’s autism spectrum disorder was caused by thimerosal, a mercury-containing preser vative used in pediatric vaccines administered to Michael as an infant. The disposition of the complaint on…