Private Law Theory

Introduction:
In the past several years the United States has experienced outbreaks of diseases that had been completely or nearly eliminated in past decades. Among the diseases that have reappeared and sickened hundreds of children are pertussis (also known as whooping cough) and measles. In most cases the outbreaks have been traced to unvaccinated individuals who contracted the diseases abroad in countries with higher infection and lower immunization rates. While the source of an outbreak may originate abroad, the spread of the diseases can usually be traced to American children whose parents have chosen not to have them immunized against these diseases. The unvaccinated children have fallen sick and, in many cases, have infected other children who were either too young to have received immunizations against the disease or who contracted the disease despite having been immunized. There are many reasons why a parent may choose not to vaccinate her child: …

Teri Dobbins Baxter, ‘Tort Liability for Parents Who Choose Not to Vaccinate Their Children and Whose Unvaccinated Children Infect Others’, 82 University of Cincinnati Law Review (2014).

First posted 2014-09-30 12:05:52