D.B. v. HHS - other (2016)
Case summary [AI summaries can sometimes make mistakes]
D.B. filed a petition on April 14, 2009 under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. The vaccine and alleged injury are not ascertainable from available case documents, as the staging text for the dismissal decision and subsequent orders was not extracted.
The special master issued a decision dismissing the petition on January 9, 2014, and judgment entered on January 14, 2014. On January 12, 2015, a new attorney, Diane C.
Cooper, entered an appearance on behalf of D.B. On January 13, 2015, petitioner filed a motion to vacate the judgment.
Special Master Hamilton-Fieldman denied the motion to vacate on September 4, 2015. On December 21, 2015, the parties filed a Stipulation of Facts regarding final attorneys' fees and costs, agreeing to an award of $14,000.00.
Petitioner had not personally incurred any costs during the period of Ms. Cooper's representation.
Special Master Hamilton-Fieldman issued a fees decision finding that the motion to vacate judgment had been brought in good faith and that there was a reasonable basis for filing it, and awarded $14,000.00 under 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-15(e)(1), payable jointly to D.B. and counsel Diane C. Cooper of Bruce G.
Clark & Associates, P.C. The decision was originally filed on December 21, 2015, and reissued on January 8, 2016 with petitioner's name replaced by initials at petitioner's request.
Theory of causation
Vaccine and injury unknown (granules 0-2 have no extracted text). Petition dismissed Jan 9, 2014; judgment Jan 14, 2014. New counsel filed motion to vacate Jan 13, 2015; denied Sept 4, 2015. Fees $14,000 (stipulated) awarded Jan 8, 2016 for motion to vacate (good faith; reasonable basis; SM Hamilton-Fieldman). NOTE: DB outcome='compensated'/award=14000 corrected to 'dismissed'/NULL — $14,000 is attorneys' fees under §300aa-15(e)(1), not petitioner compensation.