S.N. v. HHS - DTaP, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and death allegedly following DTaP, Hib, IPV, Prevnar, and rotavirus vaccines (2016)

On July 27, 2012, Thuy Nguyen filed a Vaccine Program petition on behalf of her deceased minor child, S.N. She alleged that S.N. received diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTaP), haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), inactivated poliovirus (IPV), Prevnar, and rotavirus vaccines on April 4, 2011.

S.N. allegedly died the next day, April 5, 2011, from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The public decision is brief and does not describe S.N.'s age, birth history, pre-vaccination health, the events of April 4 and April 5, how S.N. was found, emergency treatment, autopsy findings, or any other clinical details.

It also does not summarize the respondent's medical defense in detail. Petitioner had filed expert reports from Dr.

M. Eric Gershwin and Dr.

Douglas Miller. However, by April 2016, petitioner no longer believed she could prove entitlement in light of recent SIDS litigation and Chief Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey's recent ruling in Cozart v.

Secretary of Health and Human Services. On April 21, 2016, petitioner moved for a decision dismissing the petition, stating she understood a dismissal judgment would end S.N.'s Vaccine Program rights and that she wished to preserve her right to file a civil action.

Respondent did not oppose dismissal, except to preserve the right to oppose any later application for attorneys' fees and costs. Chief Special Master Dorsey granted the motion and dismissed the petition on April 26, 2016.

She found no evidence that S.N. had suffered a Table injury and no persuasive evidence that the April 4, 2011 vaccines had caused S.N.'s death. Because the medical records were insufficient to establish entitlement and the expert reports were not persuasive after Cozart, petitioner had not met the Vaccine Act's proof requirements.

No compensation was awarded. Petitioner was represented by Anne C.

Toale of Maglio Christopher & Toale in Sarasota, Florida. Respondent counsel was Lara Englund of the United States Department of Justice.