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The Georgia Supreme Court allowed an Atlanta couple's lawsuit against a vaccine manufacturer to go forward, upholding a first-of-a-kind ruling by an appellate court that had drawn fierce opposition from the vaccine industry.

The court's unanimous decision on Monday concluded that a 1986 federal law that has been used to block other lawsuits against vaccine companies does not bar the lawsuit from Marcelo and Carolyn Ferrari from going to trial.

It upheld a ruling by the Georgia Court of Appeals, which became the first appellate court in the nation to hold that the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Act does not pre-empt state law.

The Ferrari family asked the Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday to rule that vaccine maker American Home Products Corp. can be held liable for damages in a civil case involving their son, Stefan.

The family believes they can prove that thimerosal, the mercury-based preservative, caused their son's disability. Stefan, they say, was a talkative toddler before he got a round of boosters shots when he was 18-months-old. The boy, now 10, hasn't spoken since.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/17637376/detail.html