§ 130A-430. Right of State to bring action against health care provider and manufacturer.
§ 130A‑430. Right ofState to bring action against health care provider and manufacturer.
(a) If the IndustrialCommission makes an award for a claimant who it determines has sustained avaccine‑related injury, the State may, within two years of the date theCommission renders its decision, bring an action against the health careprovider who administered the vaccine on the ground that the health careprovider was negligent in administering the vaccine. Damages in an actionbrought under this section are limited to the amount of the award made by theCommission plus the estimated present value of all the services to be providedto the claimant by the Department under G.S. 130A‑427.
(b) Manufacturer. Ifthe Industrial Commission makes an award for a claimant who it determines hassustained a vaccine‑related injury, the State may, within two years ofthe date the Commission renders its decision, bring an action against themanufacturer who made the vaccine on the ground that the vaccine was adefective product. Damages in an action brought under this section are limitedto the amount of the award made by the Commission plus the estimated presentvalue of all the services to be provided to the claimant by the Departmentunder G.S. 130A‑427, the reasonable costs of prosecuting the action,including, but not limited to, attorneys' fees, fees charged by witnesses, andcosts of exhibits. For purposes of this subsection, a defective product is acovered vaccine that was manufactured, transported, or stored in a negligentmanner, or was distributed after its expiration date, or that otherwiseviolated the applicable requirements of any license, approval, or permit, orany applicable standards or requirements issued under Section 351 of the PublicHealth Service Act, as amended, or the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, asthese standards or requirements were interpreted or applied by the federalagency charged with their enforcement. The negligence or other action inviolation of applicable federal standards or requirements shall be demonstratedby the State, by a preponderance of the evidence, to be the proximate cause ofthe injury for which an award was rendered pursuant to G.S. 130A‑427, inorder to allow recovery by the State against the manufacturer pursuant to thissubsection. (1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 1008, s. 1; 1987, c. 215,s. 4; 1989, c. 727, s. 152; 1997‑443, s. 11A.87.)