TOPEKA, Kan. (Legal Newsline) - A mother who sued Walmart when her child, seeking a COVID vaccine, was given a Pfizer shot allegedly without her consent has lost her case.
That's the ruling of the Kansas Court of Appeals in a case against the retail giant and pharmacist Mark Schukar, finding their actions were covered by the federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act.
That statute protects those who administer pandemic countermeasures, unless their actions result in "death or serious physical injury." The names of the plaintiffs in the case were unknown.
The 15-year-old daughter, known as M.T., was given the vaccine in violation of the law, the mother alleged, because Kansas law required parental consent for children under the age of 16.
The case tested the scope of the PREP Act, the ruling says, in regard to potential claims over parental consent.
"The PREP Act immunizes 'covered persons' such as Walmart and (Schukar) from 'all claims for loss caused by, arising out of, relating to, or resulting from the administration to [M.T.] of a covered countermeasure,' such as the COVID-19 vaccine," the court said.
"Mother's claims for vaccination without parental consent arise out of or relate to defendants' administration of the Pfizer vaccine to M.K. and thus fall within the broad scope of PREP Act immunity."
The mother made several claims in her lawsuit against Walmart and Schukar, including battery and negligence. She sought damages for unspecified physical injuries like an increased risk of developing side effects, plus alleged emotional distress, anxiety and loss of sleep.
The Kansas trial court ruled against her on nearly all of her claims but found the PREP Act didn't give the defendants immunity for failing to do something, like obtain parental consent.
The defendants argued the issue of consent was causally related to the administration of a vaccine. The Court of Appeals agreed, dismissing all of the mother's claims.