Vaccine damage: suit successful

A man severely brain damaged after being given whooping cough vaccine as a baby has been awarded £2.75m by an Irish court against Wellcome, the drug's manufacturer.

The Kenneth Best case marks the end of a 20 year campaign against Wellcome by his mother, Margaret, during which she sought to prove that her son, now aged 24 but with a mental age of two, was damaged by the vaccine.

The success of this case is likely to give added impetus to those trying to bring claims in Britain, where there are thought to be more than 100 potential claimants.

Lawyers are now predicting that writs will be issued within weeks.

Two earlier cases brought in Britain failed due to insufficient evidence linking the vaccine with brain damage. Payments of up to £30,000, however, have been paid with no admission of liability under the government's vaccine damage scheme.