Maine Rules PREP Act Immunizes Caregivers from Traditional Legal Protections

In a March 4, 2025, decision (Jeremiah Hogan et al. v. Lincoln Medical Partners et al.), the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled that staff who administered a Covid-19 vaccination to a minor child without parental consent were immune from state causes of action for battery and negligence under the federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act.

The Hogan ruling followed the Vermont Supreme Court’s lead in its Politella decision, which involved a similar case of a minor vaccinated without parental consent, decreeing that “covered persons” under the PREP Act are immune.

The PREP Act does not, by its terms, state that it extends immunity beyond vaccine injuries to violate the established constitutional rights of parents to make medical decisions for their children. The Maine Court, like the Vermont Supremes, construed the PREP Act to federally “preempt” even state battery claims.

Battery is an intentional tort. That is, even a forced vaccination would be protected by these decisions from state civil law actions and limit parents to recovery solely under the PREP Act (which only provides recourse when death or serious bodily injury results).