{"package_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_06-vv-00795","decision_granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_06-vv-00795-0","petitioner_identifier":"V.B.","is_minor":1,"age_at_vaccination":0.9166666666666666,"age_unit_raw":"years (backfilled from staging text)","vaccine_type":null,"vaccination_date":null,"condition_raw":"autism spectrum disorder","condition_category":"ASD_autism","autism_spectrum_adjacent":1,"outcome":"dismissed","award_amount_usd":null,"decision_date":"2015-03-11","extraction_version":"gemini-v2","extracted_at":"2026-04-30T00:28:47.437264+00:00","number_of_concurrent_vaccines":null,"dose_number":null,"time_to_onset_days":null,"theory_of_causation":"Petitioners alleged that V.B. developed autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as a result of childhood vaccinations, specifically mentioning MMR and/or thimerosal-containing vaccines administered around 23 months of age on November 11, 2003. The case was dismissed by Special Master George L. Hastings, Jr. on March 11, 2015, for untimely filing. The petition was filed on November 27, 2006, requiring the first symptom or manifestation of ASD to occur after November 27, 2003. Contemporaneous medical records from Dr. Gregory Williams (October 2002, February 2003) and a retrospective note from Dr. Pamela Hofley (April 2006) indicated symptom onset around 15 months of age (March 2003), which predated the filing deadline. Later retrospective histories from Drs. Jeste, Korson, Zimmerman, and Sims (2009-2012) suggested later onset (age 2.5-3 years), but Special Master Hastings found the earlier records more reliable due to the passage of time and the timing of the later reports relative to the government's timeliness challenge. Equitable tolling was denied as the petitioners' family circumstances did not meet the narrow federal standard requiring deception or a timely, procedurally defective filing. The Special Master also noted that petitioners' expert, Dr. Andrew Zimmerman, found no specific temporal relationship between vaccines and V.B.'s regression. Therefore, the merits of vaccine causation were not reached due to the untimeliness of the petition.","is_death":0,"date_of_death":null,"petition_filed_date":"2006-11-27","case_summary":"On November 27, 2006, Robert and Janice Bevill, parents and natural guardians of V.B., a minor, filed a petition for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. The petition alleged that V.B. developed autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as a direct result of one or more vaccinations. The case was part of the Omnibus Autism Proceeding (OAP), a special proceeding established to manage the thousands of cases alleging vaccines caused autism. Due to V.B.'s diagnosis of a form of autism, her case processing was deferred to await the outcome of OAP \"test cases.\" The sole issue addressed in this decision was whether the petition was timely filed, not whether vaccines caused V.B.'s condition. The Vaccine Act requires petitions to be filed within 36 months of the first symptom or manifestation of the injury. For V.B.'s petition, filed on November 27, 2006, the first symptoms of ASD must have appeared no earlier than November 27, 2003. The Special Master, George L. Hastings, Jr., reviewed conflicting medical records regarding the onset of V.B.'s symptoms. Contemporaneous records from Dr. Gregory Williams in October 2002 and February 2003 noted concerns about V.B.'s motor and language development. A retrospective note from Dr. Pamela Hofley in April 2006 stated that symptoms arose around 15 months of age (approximately March 2003). Dr. David Urion's examination in January 2005 indicated significant language delay prior to age two (December 2003). Special Master Hastings found these earlier records, including the contemporaneous ones and Dr. Hofley's note, to be more reliable than later retrospective histories from 2009 and 2012, which placed symptom onset at age 2.5 or 3 years. He reasoned that memories dim over time and that the later reports were made after the government had raised the timeliness objection. Special Master Hastings concluded it was \"more probable than not\" that V.B.'s symptoms appeared before November 27, 2003, rendering the petition untimely. The petitioners also argued for equitable tolling, citing their family circumstances: raising six children, three of whom have autism, and initially filing pro se. Special Master Hastings expressed sympathy but denied this claim, stating that equitable tolling is only available in narrow circumstances: when there is adversary deception or the timely filing of a procedurally defective pleading, neither of which applied here. The Special Master also noted, as an additional observation, that even if timeliness were excused, the petitioners' own expert, Dr. Andrew Zimmerman, had reported \"no specific temporal relationship to vaccines (or illness)\" in V.B.'s case, suggesting a weak basis for a causation claim. Special Master Hastings dismissed the case as untimely filed on March 11, 2015. Petitioner counsel was Richard Gage. Respondent counsel was Linda Renzi.","is_minor_inferred":1,"is_pediatric_broad":1,"special_master":"George L. Hastings Jr.","petitioner_identifier_original":null,"caption_petitioner_name":null,"petitioner_attorney_name":"Richard Gage","petitioner_attorney_firm":"Richard Gage, P.C.","petitioner_attorney_location":"Cheyenne, WY","adjudicator_name":null,"caption_people_backfilled_at":null,"attorney_canonical_keys":"|richard-gage|","firm_canonical_key":"richard-gage","package_title":"BEVILL et al v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","canonical_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_06-vv-00795","plain_text_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_06-vv-00795.txt","json_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_06-vv-00795.json","source_documents":[{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_06-vv-00795-0","title":"BEVILL et al v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 03/11/2015) regarding 67 DECISION of Special Master. Signed by Special Master George L. Hastings. (tpj) Copy to parties.","date_issued":"2015-04-03","pdf_url":"https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/USCOURTS-cofc-1_06-vv-00795/granules/USCOURTS-cofc-1_06-vv-00795-0/pdf","pdf_bytes":516597,"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_06-vv-00795/USCOURTS-cofc-1_06-vv-00795-0"},{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_06-vv-00795-1","title":"BEVILL et al v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 08/18/2015) regarding 72 DECISION of Special Master - Fees Signed by Special Master George L. Hastings. (jtl) Copy to parties.","date_issued":"2015-09-09","pdf_url":null,"pdf_bytes":null,"triage_decision":"skip","triage_reason":"fees-only decision (attorney compensation)","download_status":"skipped"}]}