North Carolina family can sue over COVID-19 vaccine administered without consent, court rules
A North Carolina mother and her son can sue a public school system and a doctors' group for allegedly giving the boy a COVID-19 vaccine without consent, the state Supreme Court ruled.
The ruling handed down Friday reverses a lower-court decision that a federal health emergency law prevented Emily Happel and her son Tanner Smith from filing a lawsuit.
Both a trial judge and the state Court of Appeals had ruled against the two, who sought litigation after Smith received an unwanted vaccine during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
Smith was vaccinated in August 2021 at age 14 despite his opposition at a testing and vaccination clinic at a Guilford County high school, according to the family's lawsuit.
Greene Calls For Yanking Fda Approval Of Covid-19 Vaccines: 'Causing Permanent Harm And Deaths'
The teenager went to the clinic to be tested for COVID-19 after several cases among his school's football team, the lawsuit says. He did not anticipate that the clinic would also be administering vaccines. He told staff at the clinic that he did not want a vaccination, and he did not have a signed parental consent form to receive one.
Read On The Fox News App
But when the clinic was unable to reach his mother, a worker instructed a colleague to "give it to him anyway," Happel and Smith claim.
Happel and Smith filed the lawsuit against the Guilford County Board of Education and the Old North State Medical Society, an organization of physicians who helped operate the school clinic. The mother and son made accusations of battery and alleged that their constitutional rights were violated.
Last year, a panel of the intermediate-level appeals court ruled unanimously that the federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act shielded the school district and the physicians' group from liability. The law places broad protections and immunity on various people and organizations who perform "countermeasures" during a public health emergency.
An emergency declaration in response to COVID-19 was made in March 2020, activating the federal law's immunity provisions, the state's high court noted on Friday.
Chief Justice Paul Newby wrote in the prevailing opinion that the law did not prevent the mother and son from suing on allegations that their rights in the state constitution had been violated. He said a parent has the right to control their child's upbringing and the "right of a competent person to refuse forced, nonmandatory medical treatment."
Newby wrote that the law's plain text prompted a majority of justices to conclude that its immunity only covers tort injuries, 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 said.
A Look Back At The Early Days Of Coronavirus Spread
The court's conservative justices backed Newby's opinion, including two who wrote a separate opinion suggesting the immunity found in the federal law should be narrowed further.
Associate Justice Allison Riggs, a liberal who wrote a dissenting opinion, said that state constitutional claims should be preempted from the federal law and criticized the court's majority for a "fundamentally unsound" interpretation of the constitution.
"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.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.Original article source: North Carolina family can sue over COVID-19 vaccine administered without consent, court rules
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
States that weakened gun laws saw rise in pediatric mortality, study finds
Firearms have risen to become the leading cause of death among children and teens in the United States in recent years, but a new study joins a growing set of evidence that gun laws can make a difference. A landmark Supreme Court case in 2010 – McDonald v. Chicago – ruled that the Second Amendment applies to local governments, leading to a flurry of new laws and a deeper divide in state policy around firearms, with some states tightening restrictions and others weakening gun-related laws. Over the next 13 years, thousands more children died from firearm violence than earlier trends would have predicted – and all of the increase happened in groups of states that had more permissive gun laws, according to a study published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers grouped states into three categories based on firearm ownership and use policies – most permissive, permissive and strict – using a composite of policy scorecards from nonprofit advocacy groups: Brady, Everytown for Gun Safety and the Giffords Law Center. They found significant increases in the number of children who died from guns in states with looser laws: more than 6,000 additional deaths in states with the most permissive laws between 2011 and 2023, and more than 1,400 additional deaths in states considered to have permissive laws. Half of the states considered to have strict firearm laws – California, Maryland, New York, and Rhode Island – saw a decrease in pediatric firearm mortality in that time. Overall, there was an increase in child deaths from firearm-related homicides and an even greater increase in child deaths from firearm-related suicides, the study found. But pediatric mortality from others causes – including other suicides – did not increase in this time. Experts emphasize that many gun-related injuries and deaths are preventable, especially among children. 'In some ways, suicide can be more preventable than homicide, and a lot of that has to do with what children and youth have access to when they are having suicidal ideation,' said Dr. Lois Lee, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention. 'Means matter,' said Lee, who has researched the topic but was not involved in the new study. If more states had adopted stricter gun laws, many more children would be alive today, said Dr. Jeremy Faust, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, who was the lead author of the new study. 'It's not a pipe dream. The best-case scenario isn't some fictitious place. The best-case scenario is just a bunch of states that we currently live in, or don't,' he said. The new research didn't identify the specific types of gun policy that were the most harmful or most protective, but earlier research has suggested that background checks, secure storage laws and policies that otherwise prevent child access to guns are associated with lower pediatric firearm mortality. Dr. Christopher Rees, a pediatric emergency physician at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and assistant professor at Emory University School of Medicine, was not involved in the new study but has researched the effects that policy can have on pediatric firearm mortality and cared for patients who have been directly affected. 'It's not a political issue at the bedside,' he said. 'We should approach this as a way of protecting children and keeping children out of the emergency department.' In his own experience, he has noticed a difference between practicing in Massachusetts, a state which the new study considers to have strict firearm policy, and Georgia, which is considered to be among the most permissive. 'When I was a fellow in Boston at Boston Children's Hospital, I saw zero firearm-related injuries or fatalities,' Rees said. 'Since I have moved to Atlanta, I can't count how many children I have taken care of who have been involved in firearm-related injuries.' Firearms surpassed car accidents to become the leading cause of death among children and teens in the US in 2020, and Rees said that the philosophy behind seatbelts can serve as a guide of sorts for gun policy. 'We wear our seat belts all the time because you don't know when you're going to get in a car accident,' he said, and it can be difficult to predict with firearms, too. 'So, in my mind, the way to avoid unpredictable events is to have smart, preventive pieces in place before those unpredictable moments may come up.' In 2023, about 3,500 children and teens died in gun-related incidents, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – accounting for nearly 1 in 5 deaths among those ages 1 to 18. Research dollars to understand how to best prevent gun injuries and protect children has been lagging for years, and experts warn that recent cuts to federal health programs under the current Trump administration raise risks. The new study came from unfunded research, Faust said, and relied on data from the CDC's Injury and Violence Prevention Center – which was recently gutted by staff cuts. 'We do it because we care about it. But that's not sustainable,' Faust said. 'Our system really does function well based on a synergy between public resources and extramural research, and I'm really worried that the cuts to the CDC will make it harder for us to track this and every other epidemic.' Last month, hundreds of leading national, state, and local medical, public health, and research organizations sent a letter urging federal lawmakers to fund federal firearm violence prevention research. 'Across this country, communities are suffering from preventable firearm-related injuries and deaths,' they wrote. 'The freedom of individuals to own firearms can and should be balanced with protecting children and their families from serious harm, and ensuring the health, security, and well-being of all people.'
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dilon Technologies, Inc. Closes $9 Million in Growth Capital Financing
NEWPORT NEWS, Va., June 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Dilon Technologies®, a global leader in medical devices for biosurgery and breast cancer treatment and diagnosis, today announced a $9 million growth capital investment from JGB Management Inc. The investment will support Dilon's continued double-digit revenue growth and operational scaling. Dilon Technologies has built a robust presence in surgical settings with a portfolio of products that improve clinical outcomes. "We are proud to partner with JGB as we advance our mission to deliver evidence-based surgical solutions worldwide," said George Makhoul, CEO of Dilon Technologies. "This funding empowers us to continue delivering best-in-class innovations that improve patient care." HEMOBLAST Bellows® is a groundbreaking advanced hemostatic agent used in a wide range of surgeries—including cardiac, general, and orthopedic procedures. It remains the only FDA-approved product specifically indicated for the control of minimal, mild, and moderate bleeding. Now utilized in several hundred U.S. hospitals, HEMOBLAST® Bellows continues to redefine standards in surgical hemostasis. Another key product, MarginProbe® an in-surgery, real-time breast cancer margin assessment device. It enables surgeons to assess lumpectomy margins intraoperatively, significantly reducing the need for repeat surgeries. Clinical studies show MarginProbe® reduces re-excision rates by 25% to 80%. A 2025 study published in The American Surgeon Journal highlighted a 42% reduction in re-excision for patients with DCIS. A next-generation version of the device has been submitted to the FDA, with approval anticipated by year-end. Dilon's Navigator™ Gamma Probe product line, a market-leading tool for radio-guided lymphatic mapping and tumor localization, continues to perform strongly worldwide. A new, enhanced version is expected to launch by late 2025. "We are pleased to partner with Dilon Technologies to help them grow in their mission to provide surgical solutions worldwide," said Brett Cohen, CEO of JGB Management Inc. For more information, visit About Dilon Technologies® Technologies® Inc. is a commercial-stage medical device company that develops, manufactures, and markets innovative technologies used in hemostasis, cancer detection and assessment, and airway management. Dilon's growing surgical portfolio includes: HEMOBLAST Bellows®: The only FDA-approved powder-form hemostatic agent for minimal, mild, and moderate bleeding. MarginProbe®: A groundbreaking real-time margin assessment tool for breast cancer surgery. Navigator™ System: A leading surgical gamma probe for tumor localization and lymphatic mapping. TrueView 100 Pro: A surgical specimen analyzer for intraoperative use. CoPilot VL+®: A compact, portable video laryngoscope for airway visualization. About JGB Management Inc. JGB Management Inc., founded by Brett Cohen in 2005, is an alternative asset management firm focused on investing in niche credit-oriented situations. JGB specializes in privately negotiated investments. The firm is based in Westport CT. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Dilon Technologies Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Aethlon Medical to Present New Pre-Clinical Data at the Keystone Symposium on Long COVID and Other Post-Acute Infection Syndromes
Poster Presentation Reviews the Hemopurifier® Affinity Resin's Ability to Bind Extracellular Vesicles in Long COVID Samples SAN DIEGO, June 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Aethlon Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: AEMD), a medical therapeutic company focused on developing products to treat cancer and life-threatening infectious diseases, today announced that an abstract has been accepted for poster presentation at the Keystone Symposium on Long COVID and Other Post-Acute Infection Syndromes being held at Eldorado Hotel & Spa, Santa Fe, NM, United States, August 10-13,2025 ( Long COVID refers to persistent symptoms following acute SARs-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19). These symptoms - including fatigue, post-exertional malaise, shortness of breath, chest pain and cognitive difficulties such as "brain fog" - may last for weeks or months after the initial illness. Long COVID is estimated to affect between 44 and 48 million people in the United States alone with a projected economic burden of $2 billion for those with symptoms lasting a year. Despite over $1 billion allocated to Long COVID research funding, no treatment has proven effective. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), nanoparticles 50-500nm in diameter, released from all cell types and involved in cell-to-cell communication, have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Long COVID. EVs have been found to contain viral particles and other cargo associated with abnormal blood clotting and inflammation. Aethlon Medical's Hemopurifier® is an investigational extracorporeal device designed to bind and remove harmful EVs from the blood through a combination of plasma separation, size exclusion and binding to a proprietary affinity resin containing the plant lectin Galanthus nivalis agglutinin (GNA), previously found to bind to the sugar mannose. The Hemopurifier has previously been shown to remove EVs in a patient with severe acute COVID-19 infection. Aethlon Medical collaborated with the University of California San Francisco Medical Center Long COVID clinic to evaluate plasma samples from participants with Long COVID and control participants who had fully recovered from COVID-19 in order to examine whether individuals with Long COVID would have EVs with the mannose target on their surface that would bind to the affinity resin in the device. The data to be presented will review the binding of both larger and smaller EVs to GNA lectin and the lectin-based affinity resin, respectively. Presentation details and times are as follows: Title: Extracellular Vesicles from Participants with Long COVID are Mannosylated and Bind to the Galanthus Nivalis Agglutinin Resin in the Aethlon Hemopurifier® Authors: Miguel Pesqueira1, Rosalia de Necochea Campion1, Thomas Dalhuisen2, Emily A. Fehrman2, Jeffrey N. Martin2, Timothy J. Henrich2, Steven G. Deeks2, Michael J. Peluso2, Steven P. LaRosa1 Aethlon Medical Inc., San Diego, CA, USA University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA Presenter: Steven P. LaRosa, M.D, Chief Medical Officer, Aethlon Medical, Number: 2001Date and Time: August 12, 2025, 1930, MDT. This poster will be available following the meeting on the Aethlon Medical, Inc. corporate website at About Aethlon and the Hemopurifier® Aethlon Medical is a medical therapeutic company focused on developing the Hemopurifier, a clinical stage immunotherapeutic device which is designed to combat cancer and life-threatening viral infections and for use in organ transplantation. In human studies, the Hemopurifier has demonstrated the removal of life-threatening viruses and in pre-clinical studies, the Hemopurifier has demonstrated the removal of harmful EVs from biological fluids, utilizing its proprietary lectin-based technology. This action has potential applications in cancer, where EVs may promote immune suppression and metastasis, and in life-threatening infectious diseases. The Hemopurifier is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designated Breakthrough Device indicated for the treatment of individuals with advanced or metastatic cancer who are either unresponsive to or intolerant of standard of care therapy, and with cancer types in which EVs have been shown to participate in the development or severity of the disease. The Hemopurifier also holds an FDA Breakthrough Device designation, and an open Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) application related to the treatment of life-threatening viruses that are not addressed with approved therapies. Additional information can be found at Company Contact:Jim FrakesChief Executive Officer and Chief Financial OfficerAethlon Medical, Inc. Jfrakes@ Investor Contact:Susan NoonanS.A. Noonan Communications, LLCsusan@ View original content: SOURCE Aethlon Medical, Inc. Sign in to access your portfolio