
North Carolina justices decide family can sue over unwanted COVID-19 shot
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina mother and son can sue a public school system and a doctors' group on allegations they gave the boy a COVID-19 vaccine without consent, the state Supreme Court ruled on Friday, reversing a lower-court decision that declared a federal health emergency law blocked the litigation.
A trial judge and later the state Court of Appeals had ruled against Emily Happel and her son Tanner Smith, who at age 14 received the vaccination in August 2021 despite his protests at a testing and vaccination clinic at a Guilford County high school, according to the family's lawsuit.
Smith went to the clinic to be tested for COVID-19 after a cluster of cases occurred among his school's football team. He did not expect the clinic would be providing vaccines as well, according to the litigation. Smith told workers he didn't want a vaccination, and he lacked a signed parental consent form to get one. When the clinic was unable to reach his mother, a worker instructed another to 'give it to him anyway,' Happel and Smith allege in legal briefs.
Happel and Smith sued the Guilford County Board of Education and an organization of physicians who helped operate the school clinic, alleging claims of battery and that their constitutional rights were violated.
A panel of the intermediate-level appeals court last year ruled unanimously that the federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act shielded the school district and the Old North State Medical Society from liability. The law places broad protections and immunity on an array of individuals and organizations who perform 'countermeasures' during a public health emergency. A COVID-19 emergency declaration in March 2020 activated the law's immunity provisions, Friday's decision said.
Chief Justice Paul Newby, writing Friday's prevailing opinion, said that the federal law did not prevent the mother and son from suing on allegations that their rights in the state constitution had been violated. In particular, he wrote, there is the right for a parent to control their child's upbringing and the 'right of a competent person to refuse forced, nonmandatory medical treatment.'
The federal law's plain text led a majority of justices to conclude that its immunity only covers tort injuries, Newby wrote, which is when someone seeks damages for injuries caused by negligent or wrongful actions. 'Because tort injuries are not constitutional violations, the PREP Act does not bar plaintiffs' constitutional claims,' he added while sending the case back presumably for a trial on the allegations.
The court's five Republican justices backed Newby's opinion, including two who wrote a short separate opinion suggesting the immunity found in the federal law should be narrowed further.
Associate Justice Allison Riggs, writing a dissenting opinion backed by the other Democratic justice on the court, said that state constitutional claims should be preempted from the federal law. Riggs criticized the majority for 'fundamentally unsound' constitutional analyses.
'Through a series of dizzying inversions, it explicitly rewrites an unambiguous statute to exclude state constitutional claims from the broad and inclusive immunity,' Riggs said.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Obama's Doctor Gives Telling Update on Biden's Health Amid His Aggressive Cancer Diagnosis
Ever since former President Joe Biden announced his cancer diagnosis, there have been questions about his health. This is pretty much on par for the course; the same has happened to public figures like King Charles and Kate Middleton, too, after their own diagnosis. It's just that a lot of the conversation regarding Joe Biden's health has to do with the question of whether he should have run for a second term in office. It matters not that, in the end, Kamala Harris took over or that she lost the election anyway. Now, Barack Obama's former physician is adding to the questions surrounding Biden. Jeffrey Kuhlman said in an interview that the former President's doctor should have given him a cognitive test during his final year as president due to his age. The last report by White House physician Kevin O'Connor in February 2024 didn't include any mention of neurocognitive testing. Biden was 81 at the time. More from StyleCaster Obama Just Got Roped into Diddy's Trial in Shocking Claim King Charles Responds to Joe Biden's 'Aggressive' Cancer After Their Eerily Similar Diagnoses Related: Here are the celebrities who support Donald Trump 'Sometimes those closest to the tree miss the forest,' Kuhlman said of O'Connor, who also expressed that such a test would have given voters a clearer picture of whether Biden was up for another 4 years in the Presidency. 'It shouldn't be just health, it should be fitness,' Kuhlman said. 'Fitness is: Do you have that robust mind, body, spirit that you can do this physically, mentally, emotionally demanding job?' But Kuhlman stopped short of saying there was a conspiracy, calling O'Connor 'a good doctor' who seemed to do his best to 'give trusted medical advice.' 'I didn't see that he's purposely hiding stuff, but I don't know that,' he added. 'Maybe the investigation will show it.' This criticism comes as Republicans subpoenaed O'Connor and President Donald Trump ordered White House attorneys to determine if Biden's inner circle tried to conceal his alleged cognitive decline. Biden's diagnosis is of metastatic prostate cancer, the kind of diagnosis that sheds no light on his mental health, but reports about Biden's alleged decline have run rampant even before he stepped aside to allow his Vice President, Kamala Harris, to run. These claims were in many ways strengthened by the book published by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, titled Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again. The book is based on interviews with Democratic insiders. Biden's response to this whole thing was telling. During a Memorial Day event, the former President said. 'You can see that I'm mentally incompetent, and I can't walk, and I can beat the hell out of both of them,' he told reporters. Meanwhile, his granddaughter, Naomi Biden, called the book 'political fairy smut.' The Republicans will continue to investigate the matter, but the facts remain that Joe Biden isn't President anymore, and he didn't even stay in the race until the end in 2024. If there was, indeed, a cognitive decline on his part, it clearly hurt the Democrats more than the Republicans and, perhaps, the party in power should be thankful for that. Best of StyleCaster The 26 Best Romantic Comedies to Watch if You Want to Know What Love Feels Like These 'Bachelor' Secrets & Rules Prove What Happens Behind the Scenes Is So Much Juicier BTS's 7 Members Were Discovered in the Most Unconventional Ways
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
After decimal error cost Florida $5M in COVID vendor deal, company agrees to repay state
A South Florida health care company that was overpaid millions by the state for a COVID-related contract is going to pay the state back. Trinity Health Care Services, which was contracted by the state to register people for COVID-19 vaccinations, recently settled a lawsuit filed against it by the Florida Division of Emergency Management, court records show. Trinity agreed to pay the agency $5,624,659.43 over the next several years. But it's going to do so in installments. According to the lawsuit, filed in Leon County and settled April 9, FDEM entered into a contract with Trinity for $50,578.50 in 2021, but the agency instead paid the company $5,057,850 to Trinity – an overage of five million bucks. At the time the contract was signed, the CEO was Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, now a member of Congress and the subject of an unrelated House ethics complaint. Edwin Cherfilus, who was the CEO of Trinity at the time of the lawsuit and is now the vice president of operations, is the congresswoman's brother. Requests for comment for both the state and Trinity are pending with spokespeople. As previously reported, the state argued that Trinity, as a contractor, "was required to return any overpayments of invoices for work not actually performed and money not actually owed." According to the invoices attached to the lawsuit, many were submitted and paid in 2021. The letter to Trinity demanding repayment, however, was dated June 13, 2024. Trinity denied the allegations and the two parties agreed to settle the lawsuit to avoid the cost of future litigation. The company agreed to pay: $25,000 on or before April 18, 2025. $25,000 on or before May 8, 2025. $92,910.99 on or before Jan. 2, 2026. $92,910.99 on or before the first day of each quarter thereafter for 15 years until the settlement amount is paid in full. More: Florida files COVID-19 related suit after accidentally overpaying company $5 million Ana Goñi-Lessan, based in Tallahassee, is State Watchdog Reporter for USA TODAY - Florida. She can be reached at AGoniLessan@ This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: State settles after $5M overpayment on $50K COVID contract
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Opinion: Bringing students back — chronic absenteeism is a crisis Utah can't ignore
In Utah's classrooms — from St. George to Cache Valley — an invisible crisis has taken root: students aren't showing up to school. In the wake of the pandemic, chronic absenteeism has spiked to unprecedented levels across the state and the nation. The result isn't just missed instruction — it's missed opportunities, missed futures and missed connections to our communities. Before COVID-19, Utah had one of the lowest chronic absenteeism rates in the country. But since 2020, those numbers have nearly doubled in many districts, including in Cache County, where teachers and administrators are raising alarms about students slipping through the cracks. Statewide, roughly 1 in 5 students now meets the threshold for chronic absenteeism — defined as missing 10% or more of the school year. That's about 18 full days of instruction. This isn't a temporary dip in engagement. It's a structural issue that threatens long-term educational success, workforce readiness and, perhaps most importantly, civic health. The causes are complex but painfully familiar. Mental health struggles have increased significantly among Utah's youth. Anxiety, depression and burnout, exacerbated by academic disruption and social isolation, are keeping students home. Economic pressures weigh heavily on many families. In parts of Cache County and rural Utah, limited access to transportation or reliable childcare can turn everyday logistics into barriers to attendance. Academic disengagement, especially after the shift to remote learning, has made it harder for some students to reconnect with school. Once behind, many simply stop showing up. A cultural shift in how some families view the importance of in-person schooling has emerged. The rhythm and routine of school have been disrupted, and many communities haven't fully restored them. These are not problems schools can fix on their own. This is a community problem, and it requires a community solution. We often talk about education in terms of curriculum, testing and funding, but none of it matters if students aren't in class. Chronic absenteeism is one of the clearest predictors of academic decline, high school dropout and long-term economic struggle. It also puts strain on teachers, complicates classroom management and disrupts learning for students who do attend. In rural counties like Cache, where every student counts and community cohesion is strong, absenteeism doesn't just affect schools — it weakens our shared future. And the stakes are especially high in Utah, where we pride ourselves on strong families, tight-knit communities and a forward-looking vision for our children. This is not a challenge that can be solved by state policy alone. We need local, community-based responses, starting now. Faith groups, nonprofits and local employers can partner with schools to offer transportation help, mentorship and family support. Parents and neighbors can play a more active role in encouraging daily attendance and reinforcing the value of education. Local officials can prioritize funding for after-school programs, student wellness and attendance outreach teams. Community leaders and media outlets can help reframe the conversation: this is not about punishment — it's about connection, belonging and showing students and parents they matter. Let's make school a place where students want to be — not just for grades, but for growth, purpose and community. Hope begins at home. Here in Utah, we don't wait for Washington to solve our problems. We come together, roll up our sleeves and take care of our own. Tackling absenteeism will require that same spirit, especially in close-knit places like Cache County, where community strength is one of our greatest assets. We can't afford to let this become the new normal. It's time to bring our students back — one day, one connection and one conversation at a time.