{"package_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_04-vv-00992","decision_granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_04-vv-00992-1","petitioner_identifier":"LEIGH EWORONSKY, parent of A.E., a minor","is_minor":1,"age_at_vaccination":null,"age_unit_raw":null,"vaccine_type":"MMR","vaccination_date":"1999-01-19","condition_raw":"Autistic Disorder (AD); pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), not otherwise specified","condition_category":"ASD_autism","autism_spectrum_adjacent":1,"outcome":"dismissed","award_amount_usd":null,"decision_date":"2018-02-07","extraction_version":"gemini-v2","extracted_at":"2026-04-30T04:35:16.095537+00:00","number_of_concurrent_vaccines":3,"dose_number":null,"time_to_onset_days":null,"theory_of_causation":"Petitioners alleged that residual human DNA fragments and HERV-K endogenous retrovirus fragments in the MMR vaccine caused autism through insertional mutagenesis and autoimmunity. This theory was advanced by petitioner's expert, Dr. Theresa Deisher, through a \"change point\" study analyzing autism prevalence data against vaccine introduction dates. The study's ecological design, data accuracy concerns, and statistical methods were criticized by respondent's experts. The proposed mechanisms of action, including retrograde transport, microvesicle transport, and hematopoietic stem cell uptake, were found to be undeveloped or unsupported by scientific evidence. The Chief Special Master, Nora Beth Dorsey, in the lead case V.J.M. v. Secretary, rejected this theory, finding it lacked a sound and reliable scientific explanation and was inconsistent with numerous epidemiological studies that found no association between the MMR vaccine and autism. Consequently, A.E.'s petition was dismissed.","is_death":0,"date_of_death":null,"petition_filed_date":"2002-01-04","case_summary":"Leigh Eworonsky, as parent of A.E., a minor, filed a petition on January 4, 2002, alleging that vaccinations, including the MMR, hepatitis A, and Varicella vaccines, caused A.E.'s Autistic Disorder and pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified, through a post-vaccination developmental regression. The case was part of the Omnibus Autism Proceeding (OAP) and later consolidated into a \"mini-omnibus\" proceeding with 23 other cases to test the theory of causation involving residual human DNA fragments and HERV-K retrovirus elements in the MMR vaccine. The lead case for this mini-omnibus was V.J.M. v. Secretary, and all petitioners agreed to be bound by its decision.\n\nOn August 31, 2017, Chief Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey issued a decision in the lead case, V.J.M., denying entitlement. This decision was reissued in redacted form on February 7, 2018. The decision found that the petitioners' theory, which posited that residual human DNA fragments and HERV-K endogenous retrovirus elements in the MMR vaccine cause autism through insertional mutagenesis or autoimmunity, was not supported by preponderant evidence. Specifically, Dr. Theresa Deisher's \"change point\" study, central to the petitioners' theory, was found to have significant methodological limitations, including an ecological study design, data accuracy issues, and flawed statistical analysis. The proposed mechanisms of action, such as retrograde transport and microvesicle transport, were deemed undeveloped or unsupported. Dr. Deisher conceded that the role of HERV-K in disease was \"observational\" and unknown. The decision also noted that numerous epidemiological studies overwhelmingly rejected the MMR-autism causal link.\n\nFollowing the decision in the lead case, A.E.'s petition was dismissed on February 7, 2018, based on the same reasoning. The public decision for A.E.'s case incorporates the reasoning from the lead V.J.M. decision, although it does not reproduce A.E.'s specific clinical timeline. The petition was dismissed for insufficient proof. Prior to the final dismissal, an interim decision regarding attorney fees and costs was issued on August 12, 2014, by Special Master Denise Kathryn Vowell, awarding $150.00 to Leigh Eworonsky and $18,879.53 jointly to Leigh Eworonsky and her attorney, Harry G. Potter, III.","is_minor_inferred":1,"is_pediatric_broad":1,"special_master":"Denise K. Vowell","petitioner_identifier_original":null,"caption_petitioner_name":null,"petitioner_attorney_name":"Clifford J. Shoemaker","petitioner_attorney_firm":"Shoemaker, Gentry & Knickelbein","petitioner_attorney_location":"Vienna, VA","adjudicator_name":null,"caption_people_backfilled_at":null,"attorney_canonical_keys":"|clifford-shoemaker|john-mchugh|","firm_canonical_key":"shoemaker-gentry-and-knickelbein","package_title":"EWORONSKY et al v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","canonical_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_04-vv-00992","plain_text_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_04-vv-00992.txt","json_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_04-vv-00992.json","source_documents":[{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_04-vv-00992-0","title":"EWORONSKY et al v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 07/14/2014) regarding 41 DECISION Interim Fees Stipulation. Signed by Chief Special Master Denise Kathryn Vowell. (tpj) Copy to parties.","date_issued":"2014-08-12","pdf_url":"https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/USCOURTS-cofc-1_04-vv-00992/granules/USCOURTS-cofc-1_04-vv-00992-0/pdf","pdf_bytes":268532,"triage_decision":"keep","triage_reason":"docketText matches keep keyword 'stipulation'","download_status":"ok","registry_pdf_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/pdf/USCOURTS-cofc-1_04-vv-00992/USCOURTS-cofc-1_04-vv-00992-0"},{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_04-vv-00992-1","title":"EWORONSKY et al v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 08/31/2017) regarding 105 DECISION of Special Master. Signed by Chief Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey. (Attachments: #1 Appendix A)(har) Service on parties made. Modified on 7/2/2019 to include the attachment(s) in the main document for posting to the court's website (da).","date_issued":"2018-02-07","pdf_url":"https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/USCOURTS-cofc-1_04-vv-00992/granules/USCOURTS-cofc-1_04-vv-00992-1/pdf","pdf_bytes":1306260,"triage_decision":"keep","triage_reason":"docketText matches keep keyword 'decision of special master'","download_status":"ok","registry_pdf_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/pdf/USCOURTS-cofc-1_04-vv-00992/USCOURTS-cofc-1_04-vv-00992-1"},{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_04-vv-00992-2","title":"EWORONSKY et al v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 04/20/2018) regarding 112 DECISION of Special Master - Fees, Signed by Chief Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey. (tlf) Service on parties made.","date_issued":"2018-05-15","pdf_url":null,"pdf_bytes":null,"triage_decision":"skip","triage_reason":"fees-only decision (attorney compensation)","download_status":"skipped"}]}