A federal law granting broad immunity to vaccine administrators and others does not preempt charges that a mother’s constitutional rights were violated when her son was given a COVID-19 vaccine without her consent, the North Carolina Supreme Court has ruled.
Lower courts found that a federal law, called the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act), preempted claims brought by Happel and Tanner. However, North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby wrote for the majority that the law only provides immunity in situations typically involving tort law, such as serious injury, and not constitutional violations.
Courts have generally found that the immunization preempts a range of state-level claims, while the top court in North Carolina concluded that it does not shield people who violated constitutional rights.
“The literalist interpretation defendants urge us to adopt today defies even the broad scope of the statutory text. Under this view, Congress gave carte blanche to any willful misconduct related to the administration of a covered countermeasure, including the State’s deliberate violation of fundamental constitutional rights, so long as it fell short of causing ‘death or serious physical injury,’” Newby said.
Definition of ‘Loss’ Under PREP Act
Congress, in the PREP Act, provided immunity to “all claims for loss.” Happel argued that her claims did not meet the definition of loss, which Congress detailed to include death and loss of property. The examples listed in the law are all associated with tort law, the North Carolina Supreme Court majority said.“Because ordinary tort loss is distinct from constitutional loss, the tort-based examples included in the PREP Act suggest that Congress did not intend for the immunity to block state constitutional claims,” Newby said.
Workers with the Old North State Medical Society vaccinated Tanner, despite his refusal and a lack of consent from his parents, at a clinic promoted by the Guilford County Board of Education. The defendants had argued the conduct was immunized by the PREP Act, citing other cases in which courts concluded similar conduct was shielded by the federal law.
North Carolina Supreme Court justices said the rulings did not persuade them because they either did not deal with constitutional claims or did not separate alleged constitutional violations from other state law claims.