{"package_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_13-vv-00885","decision_granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_13-vv-00885-1","petitioner_identifier":"M.M.","is_minor":1,"age_at_vaccination":1.0,"age_unit_raw":"years","vaccine_type":"MMR","vaccination_date":"2011-11-16","condition_raw":"anaphylactic shock, encephalopathy with resulting developmental delays","condition_category":"encephalitis_encephalopathy","autism_spectrum_adjacent":1,"outcome":"dismissed","award_amount_usd":null,"decision_date":"2016-11-17","extraction_version":"gemini-v2","extracted_at":"2026-04-30T02:44:14.192842+00:00","number_of_concurrent_vaccines":6,"dose_number":null,"time_to_onset_days":0,"theory_of_causation":"Petitioners James and Valerie Myers filed a petition on behalf of their minor grandchild, M.M., alleging that M.M. suffered anaphylactic shock and subsequent encephalopathy with developmental delays following multiple vaccinations between November 2010 and November 2011. The petition was filed on November 8, 2013. The Special Master, Brian H. Corcoran, dismissed the petition, finding that the evidence did not support the claims of anaphylaxis or encephalopathy. The court found no contemporaneous medical records to corroborate the petitioners' assertions of adverse reactions to the vaccines. The anaphylaxis Table claim was dismissed because no reaction occurred within the four-hour window required for a Table claim. The Table encephalopathy claim was dismissed due to a lack of evidence of an acute reaction or a chronic condition lasting over six months. The non-Table claim failed because there was no objective evidence of a neurological reaction suggestive of encephalopathy, nor a sufficient expert opinion establishing that the vaccines could cause developmental regression. The temporal relationship between the alleged onset of developmental issues and the vaccinations was also deemed not medically acceptable. The Special Master concluded that the evidence did not support the contention that M.M. experienced any reaction to the vaccines or that the vaccines were related to his developmental problems. The case was dismissed without a hearing. Attorneys for Petitioners were James and Valerie Myers (pro se after June 2015). Attorney for Respondent was Ann Martin, U.S. Dep't of Justice. Decision Date: November 17, 2016.","is_death":0,"date_of_death":null,"petition_filed_date":"2013-11-08","case_summary":"On November 8, 2013, James and Valerie Myers filed a petition on behalf of their minor grandchild, M.M., seeking compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. The petition alleged that M.M. experienced anaphylactic shock and subsequently developed encephalopathy with resulting developmental delays following multiple vaccinations administered between November 12, 2010, and November 16, 2011. Petitioners were represented by counsel until June 2015, after which they proceeded as pro se litigants. The Special Master, Brian H. Corcoran, reviewed the case record and, noting the petitioners' difficulties in obtaining expert support for their causation claim, invited the respondent to move for dismissal. After reviewing the evidentiary record and the parties' filings, the Special Master denied the petitioners' request for compensation and dismissed their claims.\n\nM.M. was born on November 10, 2010. He received his first vaccine, the Hepatitis B vaccine, on November 11, 2010, with no adverse reaction noted in the medical records. His subsequent well-child visits on January 17, 2011, and throughout 2011 showed him to be within normal developmental and health limits, although an \"Ages and Stages\" questionnaire administered on August 3, 2011, indicated possible deficits in personal/social interaction. M.M. received multiple vaccinations during these visits, including DTaP, IPV, Hib, Hep B, and PCV. On November 16, 2011, at twelve months of age, M.M. received DTaP, MMR, varicella, Hib, PCV, and influenza vaccines. His examination and developmental screen at this visit were also recorded as normal. Petitioners alleged that M.M.'s behavior changed immediately after this November 16, 2011 vaccination visit, but no medical records from that period corroborated this assertion. The next relevant medical record was an \"Ages & Stages\" questionnaire completed on May 9, 2012, which revealed potential delays in communication and social-emotional development, leading to a referral to the Arizona Early Intervention Program (AZEIP). M.M.'s mother expressed concerns about his speech and overall development in May 2012, noting that she had considered him \"fine\" until his twelve-month vaccinations. An AZEIP evaluation on May 29, 2012, confirmed delays in communication and social-emotional development, while motor, cognitive, and adaptive skills were deemed age-appropriate. Petitioners later explored various treatments, including naturopathic medicine and chelation therapy, and consulted with toxicologist Daniel Brooks, M.D., who expressed no concerns about a relationship between M.M.'s problems and vaccines or metal toxicity. M.M. was treated by several naturopathic providers and a homeopathic physician. Martha Grout, M.D., a homeopathic physician, prepared statements suggesting that the vaccines overwhelmed M.M.'s defense system and caused lethargy and physical changes, but she did not prepare a formal expert opinion. A neurologist, Melanie Burgos-Alarcio, M.D., noted in December 2015 that M.M. had a \"history of severe vaccine reactions\" and \"anaphylaxis,\" but the contemporaneous records did not corroborate these statements.\n\nThe Special Master addressed the petitioners' Table claims for anaphylaxis and encephalopathy. Regarding anaphylaxis, the Special Master noted that the Vaccine Injury Table requires symptoms to begin within four hours of vaccination. The contemporaneous medical records from M.M.'s birth and 2011 visits showed no evidence of a severe reaction within this timeframe. The Special Master found the statements from Dr. Burgos-Alarcio uncorroborated by contemporaneous records. Therefore, the anaphylaxis Table claims were dismissed for lack of preponderant evidence.\n\nFor the Table encephalopathy claim, the Special Master found no record evidence of an immediate acute reaction or a chronic condition lasting over six months following the November 2011 vaccinations. The medical records did not document any neurological injury, nor did any treater opine on a vaccine relationship at or around the time of vaccination. Later treater opinions were not given deference as they were based on petitioners' recounted history and occurred long after the vaccinations. Thus, the Table encephalopathy claim was also dismissed.\n\nTurning to the non-Table claim, the Special Master determined that M.M. did not experience an encephalopathy, as there was no objective evidence of a neurological reaction suggestive of encephalopathy. Petitioners relied heavily on their own statements, which were not corroborated by contemporaneous proof and were made after the case was filed. The Special Master also found that petitioners could not satisfy the Althen prongs for a non-Table claim. Specifically, no sufficient expert opinion established that the vaccines could cause developmental regression. The record lacked proof of a neurologic injury resulting from the vaccinations, and the temporal relationship between the onset of developmental issues and the vaccines was not shown to be medically acceptable. The Special Master noted that claims alleging vaccines caused developmental problems, including autism, have rarely been successful in Vaccine Program cases.\n\nIn conclusion, the Special Master found that the factual record did not support the contention that M.M. experienced any reaction to the vaccines or that the vaccines were related to his developmental problems. The petition was dismissed.","is_minor_inferred":null,"is_pediatric_broad":1,"special_master":"Brian H. Corcoran","petitioner_identifier_original":null,"caption_petitioner_name":null,"petitioner_attorney_name":null,"petitioner_attorney_firm":null,"petitioner_attorney_location":null,"adjudicator_name":null,"caption_people_backfilled_at":null,"attorney_canonical_keys":null,"firm_canonical_key":null,"package_title":"MYERS et al v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","canonical_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_13-vv-00885","plain_text_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_13-vv-00885.txt","json_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_13-vv-00885.json","source_documents":[{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_13-vv-00885-0","title":"MYERS et al v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 06/09/2015) regarding 43 DECISION of Special Master - Interim Attorney's Fees. Signed by Special Master Brian H. Corcoran. (ag) Copy to parties.","date_issued":"2015-07-01","pdf_url":null,"pdf_bytes":null,"triage_decision":"skip","triage_reason":"fees-only decision (attorney compensation)","download_status":"skipped"},{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_13-vv-00885-1","title":"MYERS et al v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 11/17/2016) regarding 64 DECISION of Special Master. Signed by Special Master Brian H Corcoran. (kh) Copy to parties.","date_issued":"2017-01-09","pdf_url":"https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/USCOURTS-cofc-1_13-vv-00885/granules/USCOURTS-cofc-1_13-vv-00885-1/pdf","pdf_bytes":1392698,"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_13-vv-00885/USCOURTS-cofc-1_13-vv-00885-1"}]}