Z.B. v. HHS - Pneumococcal, opsoclonus myoclonus syndrome (2017)

Lisa and Christopher Brown, as parents and natural guardians of their daughter Z.B., filed a petition for vaccine compensation on March 27, 2014. They alleged that Z.B. developed opsoclonus myoclonus syndrome (OMS) after receiving a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on May 3, 2011.

The respondent, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, denied that the vaccine caused Z.B.'s condition or any other injury. The parties resolved the case through a stipulation for damages.

Special Master Laura D. Millman adopted the stipulation on June 28, 2017.

The public decision does not contain a contested medical analysis of the onset, mechanism, or expert testimony. The award was based on the parties' negotiated terms.

The compensation included a lump sum of $170,000.00 for Z.B.'s benefit, comprising $13,018.18 for first-year life care expenses and $156,981.82 for pain and suffering. Additionally, a separate lump sum of $25,000.00 was awarded to Lisa and Christopher Brown for past unreimbursable expenses.

The stipulation also mandated the purchase of an annuity for Z.B.'s future needs. This annuity provides scheduled future payments for various expenses, including Medicare deductibles and Part D expenses, neurologist and Ritalin costs, neuropsychological and behavioral services, summer programming, music therapy, social skills therapy, driver evaluation, vocational evaluation, tutoring, and case management.

These future payments are structured across Z.B.'s childhood, adulthood, and life expectancy, with specified annual increases of four or five percent, depending on the category. Attorneys' fees and litigation costs were reserved for separate proceedings.

The stipulation stated that it was not an admission by the United States or the Secretary of Health and Human Services that the vaccine caused Z.B.'s OMS or any other injury.