A Measle-ly Lawsuit: Can Parents Who Don’t Vaccinate their Children be Sued?

Originally published by Alex Fuller .

Yearning to leave the frozen wasteland of Dallas, Texas behind her if just for a moment, Penny McCrathy, an outspoken anti-vaccination advocate, took her unvaccinated children to Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Not knowing that her children had been exposed to measles by a foreign tourist, Penny brought them back to Texas and sent them back to public school, which they attended under a vaccination exemption based on their “personal beliefs”. One week later, her children came down with measles as well. Most of the children in their school were immunized, but unfortunately one young lady, Ima Munenot, had a severe immunodeficiency disorder and could never receive vaccinations. One week after the McCrathy kids came down with measles, so did Ima – but while the McCrathy children got over the disease, Ima was hospitalized with meningitis and nearly died. In addition to their emotional trauma, Ima’s family incurred tens of thousands of dollars in medical expenses. Might Ima’s family have a legal case against Penny for refusing to vaccinate her children and exposing Ima to a deadly disease?

Perhaps. Texas law recognizes a cause of action for the negligent transmission of infection diseases – for instance, plaintiffs have litigated and won cases involving the negligent transmission of genital herpes. Although there are no cases to date involving the negligent transmission of measles where the negligent act is a failure to vaccinate a child, it is certainly possible that a plaintiff might prevail on such a case if they can prove the essential elements of a negligence cause of action: (1) the existence of a duty from the defendant to the plaintiff, (2) breach of that duty, (3) harm to the plaintiff, and (4) that the breach of the duty caused the harm. The two greatest hurdles to a successful lawsuit in this case are duty and causation.

Is there Causation? Ima’s parents must prove both that Penny’s actions in failing to vaccinate her children was both the cause-in-fact of Ima’s disease and that the injury was foreseeable. According to a recent article in the Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics, medical science can trace the spread of measles from person to person with a high degree of probability both through laboratory and epidemiological studies. It is thus very likely that Ima’s parents can prove that Penny’s children were the source of Ima’s measles. A jury could certainly find that Penny should have foreseen that Penny’s failure to vaccinate her children might spread the disease to others.

Is There a Duty? The larger hurdle for Ima is proving the existence of a duty. Courts, in determining whether a duty exists, traditionally apply a “risk-utility” test comparing the risk of harm by the actor against the social utility of the actor’s conduct. In this case, Penny’s conduct in not vaccinating her children has zero social utility and the risk is high: measles is one of the leading causes of death among young children and the measles vaccine is safe, readily available and inexpensive. Additionally, Texas statutes require that all children be vaccinated. However, those same statutes also state that a failure to comply with the statute requiring vaccination does not create a cause of action, and further that there is a statutory exemption for persons who sign an affidavit stating that they do not wish to vaccinate their children for “reasons of conscience”. In addition, persons who refuse to vaccinate their children for religious reasons may be protected by the Texas and United States Constitutions. Thus, Penny likely has a strong legal argument that she is not liable for Ima’s illness.

Tilting the Scales in Your Favor. The best protection against measles is vaccination, not litigation. However, infants and persons with suppressed immune systems cannot get vaccinated. Parents of children who cannot be vaccinated should demand that schools protect vulnerable students by banning unvaccinated children from attending school during outbreaks of measles and other diseases. In the worst case scenario, however, the threat of litigation may convince parents who are on the fence to have their children vaccinated.

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