Ronda Morris v. HHS - Hepatitis B, internal itching and vitiligo (2017)

Ronda Morris filed a petition seeking compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, alleging that she experienced internal itching and vitiligo after receiving the Hepatitis B vaccine on October 22, 2010. The case proceeded as an off-Table claim, meaning Ms.

Morris had to prove that the vaccine caused her injuries. She presented expert testimony from Dr.

Richard Horan, a dermatologist, who opined that vitiligo could be an autoimmune reaction to the vaccine, initially manifesting as internal itching. Respondent's expert, Dr.

Emil Bardana, a specialist in immunology and allergy, disagreed, stating that there was no evidence of an inflammatory process and that the timing of Ms. Morris's symptoms was inconsistent with a vaccine reaction.

The court considered the medical records, expert testimony, and scientific literature. Ultimately, the Special Master found that Ms.

Morris failed to establish a medically plausible theory connecting the Hepatitis B vaccine to her internal itching and vitiligo. The court noted the lack of scientific literature linking the Hep B vaccine to vitiligo, the experimental nature of vaccines used in cited studies, and the unreliability of vaccine package inserts as proof of causation.

Furthermore, the court found insufficient evidence of an ongoing autoimmune process and noted that Ms. Morris's Hep B immunity tests were negative, suggesting the vaccine did not produce its intended effect.

The court also found the temporal relationship between the vaccination and the onset of symptoms to be too attenuated and medically unexplained. Therefore, Ms.

Morris's petition for compensation was denied.