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June 6th, 2014 
Awake Goy 
Massive payout: Saba Button with her mum Kirsten. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: News Limited
A WA girl who can no longer walk and talk after she received the flu vaccine has been awarded what could be one of the largest medical damages payouts in Australian history.
Saba Button suffered global brain injury, kidney, liver and bone marrow failure and prolonged seizures after she was given the Fluvax shot in April, 2010.
Three days after Saba was admitted into intensive care at Princess Margaret Hospitals, Fluvax was recalled. It is now banned for children under five.
Her parents Mick and Kirsten launched legal action in the Federal Court against the vaccine’s manufacturer, CSL and the State of WA last year alleging the product was defective after testing conducted by the company prior to April 2010 identified fever as a serious side effect of the 2010 batch.
Mick and Kirsten Button with daughter Saba and son Cooper. Picture: Karin Calvert Source: News Limited
Settlement was reached between CSL, the State of WA and the family during recent mediation and while the details of the agreement have been sealed, legal experts have previously said the payout could be above $10 million.
Today, Justice Michael Barker agreed to allow the settlement to proceed, saying that he was also pleased the parties reached an agreement saving the youngster and her parents the cost and stress of a lengthy trial.
Following the decision this morning, the family issued a statement through their lawyer Julian Johnson saying all issues between the parties had been resolved to their satisfaction.
They also said more importantly the settlement will assist them to provide for Saba’s future care.
After Saba was admitted to hospital in 2010, it emerged there had been more than 100 adverse reaction presentations to the vaccination at PMH that flu season.
But this information wasn’t passed on to the general public until after Saba was in the intensive-care unit.
An independent inquiry found “serious deficiency’’ in reporting processes and slow responses by both state and federal authorities.
It also concluded the Department of Health’s Communicable Disease Control Directorate was “informed of a significant rise in adverse reactions in early April 2010, but did not take any further action while they gathered data’’.
In 2012, the federal Health Department’s Therapeutic Goods Administration released data revealing Fluvax was four times more likely to trigger side-effects in adults than two rival vaccines.
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