A legal Catch-22 could doom many claims in both the vaccine court and civil courts. The compensation law requires that petitions be filed within three years of the first sign of injury. In many cases, by the time children were diagnosed with autism and parents learned of their mercury exposure, the deadline had passed. This technicality could cause as many as 60% of the petitions to be discarded in the vaccine court, lawyers for the parents say. And some civil courts have decreed that people who did not file on time in the vaccine court can't pursue civil litigation.

Now it is making something of a comeback. This year, the CDC added flu shots to the vaccine schedule for children 6 months and older. Aventis, the only producer of flu vaccine for infants and toddlers, makes it both in single-dose and mercury-containing multi- dose vials. The CDC has spurned appeals to recommend thimerosal- free shots for all children and pregnant women -- fearing parents might refuse a shot for their kids if they couldn't get it mercury- free.

Autism on the rise; CREDIT: Los Angeles Times; 'IT'S TORN OUR LIFE APART': Kevin and [Cheryl Dass] of Kansas City, Mo., say mercury-containing vaccines led to autism in their sons, [Kyle] and [Dillon Dass]. They are among more than 4,200 families seeking compensation to pay for their children's special needs.; PHOTOGRAPHER: Don Ipock For The Times; 'HE STOPPED LOOKING AT US': Lyn Redwood of Georgia says her son Will began regressing after his first birthday.