JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (CN) - A Missouri appeals court upheld an $8.5 million judgment and awarded an additional $2.8 million in prejudgment interest to a St. Louis man who contracted polio after taking an oral vaccine as a child. Cortez Strong contracted polio in 1987 after receiving his second dose of Orimune, manufactured by American Cyanamid.
Strong sued American Cyanamid and the doctor who gave him the vaccine. In 2005 a St. Louis County jury cleared the doctor, but ruled against American Cyanamid, ordering it to pay Strong $1.5 for pain and suffering, $2 million for future lost earnings and $5 million for future pain and suffering. Both sides appealed.
American Cyanamid claimed there was not enough evidence that it was legally liable for Strong's polio.
Strong's appeal sought to have American Cyanamid pay interest on the award.
A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals' Eastern District rejected American Cyanamid's appeal and awarded Strong the additional $2.8 million because American Cyanamid refused to accept a pretrial settlement offer that was less than the jury awarded.
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