Erin Heath v. HHS - HPV, stroke (2016)

Erin Heath filed a petition on August 29, 2012, alleging that the Gardasil vaccinations she received on September 18, 2009, November 20, 2009, and March 18, 2010, caused her to suffer a stroke on September 23, 2009. The respondent, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, filed a Rule 4(c) report on February 6, 2013, concluding that the petitioner had not demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence that her injuries were caused-in-fact by the vaccines.

The respondent also noted that the petitioner had not presented a plausible medical theory of causation by which an HPV vaccine could cause a stroke. After numerous expert reports were filed by both parties, the case was set for an entitlement hearing in April 2016.

However, on February 2, 2016, and again on March 7, 2016, the petitioner moved for a decision dismissing her petition, stating that dismissal was the preferable course of action. Special Master Christian J.

Moran issued a decision on March 8, 2016, denying compensation. The Special Master found that the petitioner had not established entitlement to compensation.

To receive compensation, petitioners must prove either a "Table Injury" or that the injury was actually caused by a vaccine. The Special Master determined that the record did not contain evidence of a "Table Injury" and that there was no persuasive evidence indicating that the petitioner's injuries were vaccine-caused.

The public decision does not describe the specific symptoms, medical records, or treatments related to the alleged stroke, nor does it name the petitioner's counsel or respondent's counsel. The decision also does not detail the specific medical opinions or expert testimony presented, only that the petitioner's offered medical opinion was not persuasive.

The case was dismissed for insufficient proof. Judgment was to be entered accordingly.