PORTLAND, Ore. – A coalition of law firms went to courts across the nation Tuesday

to force the pharmaceutical industry to begin immediate studies on whether vaccines containing a trace of mercury

cause autism or other brain damage.

The class-action lawsuits were led by an Oregon woman who says her 3-year-old son became autistic after his last series of vaccination shots.

“We had a happy, healthy little boy until that last set of shots,” Tory Mead said. “It’s been devastating. Our lives have been shattered.”

Mead warned parents to make sure their children are vaccinated, despite the lawsuit. She noted doctors and drug companies are phasing out shots containing mercury that was used as a preservative.

“Our fear is that parents will avoid the vaccinations, but it is not the vaccine that is the problem – it is the mercury,” she said.

The law firm representing Mead has formed the Mercury Vaccine Alliance, a coalition of more than 35 law firms across the country representing families in at least 25 states.

Spokesmen for the firms said the lawsuits were being filed Tuesday in nine states – California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.

Suits already have been filed in Oregon and Massachusetts, attorneys said.