Raithe Pace v. HHS - Influenza, left shoulder injury (2014)
Case summary [AI summaries can sometimes make mistakes]
Raithe Pace filed a petition for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program on December 19, 2013, alleging that she suffered a left shoulder injury caused in fact by an influenza vaccine administered on September 24, 2011. The respondent, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, filed a report on June 2, 2014, stating that the alleged injury was consistent with Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration (SIRVA) and that the petitioner met the legal prerequisites for compensation.
The respondent's concession was limited to the petitioner's SIRVA and its related sequelae. On June 3, 2014, Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey issued a Ruling on Entitlement, finding that the petitioner was entitled to compensation for an injury caused in fact by a covered vaccine, based on the respondent's concession and a review of the record.
A separate damages order was to follow. On June 25, 2014, the respondent filed a Proffer on Award of Compensation, stating that the petitioner should be awarded $95,000.00, an amount with which the petitioner agreed.
On July 18, 2014, Special Master Dorsey issued a Decision Awarding Damages, granting Raithe Pace a lump sum payment of $95,000.00, payable to her. This amount accounted for all elements of compensation under 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-15(a).
The parties also stipulated to attorneys' fees and costs. On July 17, 2014, they filed a Stipulation of Facts Concerning Attorneys’ Fees and Costs, agreeing to an award of $17,000.00.
On August 8, 2014, Special Master Dorsey issued a decision approving this stipulation, ordering that a check for $17,000.00 be made jointly payable to Raithe Pace and her counsel, Maximillian J. Muller of Muller Brazil, LLP.
The public decision does not describe the specific onset, symptoms, medical tests, treatments, or the mechanism of injury. Petitioner was represented by Maximillian J.
Muller of Muller Brazil, LLP, and respondent was represented by Traci R. Patton of the U.S.
Department of Justice.
Theory of causation
Petitioner Raithe Pace alleged a left shoulder injury caused in fact by an influenza vaccine administered on September 24, 2011. The respondent conceded that the injury was consistent with Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration (SIRVA) and that petitioner met the legal prerequisites for compensation. The Special Master's Ruling on Entitlement, issued June 3, 2014, found petitioner entitled to compensation based on this concession. A subsequent Decision Awarding Damages, issued July 18, 2014, granted a lump sum of $95,000.00 to petitioner. Attorneys' fees and costs were stipulated at $17,000.00 and approved August 8, 2014. The public decision does not detail the specific medical mechanism, expert testimony, or clinical findings beyond the concession of SIRVA. Petitioner was represented by Maximillian J. Muller (Muller Brazil, LLP), and respondent by Traci R. Patton (U.S. Department of Justice). Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey presided over the proceedings.