{"package_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_14-vv-00385","decision_granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_14-vv-00385-0","petitioner_identifier":"Reta Erxleben","is_minor":null,"age_at_vaccination":null,"age_unit_raw":"years (no age in source - verified)","vaccine_type":"influenza","vaccination_date":"2011-09-14","condition_raw":"dysphagia, vocal cord dysfunction, and laryngeal dystonia","condition_category":"other","autism_spectrum_adjacent":0,"outcome":"dismissed","award_amount_usd":null,"decision_date":"2017-05-10","extraction_version":"gemini-v2","extracted_at":"2026-04-30T00:33:01.932883+00:00","number_of_concurrent_vaccines":1,"dose_number":null,"time_to_onset_days":null,"theory_of_causation":"Off-Table","is_death":0,"date_of_death":null,"petition_filed_date":"2014-05-04","case_summary":"Reta Erxleben filed a claim alleging that an influenza vaccine administered on September 14, 2011, caused her to develop dysphagia, vocal cord dysfunction, and laryngeal dystonia. She filed her petition with the Court of Federal Claims on May 4, 2014. To prove her case, Ms. Erxleben was required to establish a medical theory, a logical sequence of cause and effect, and a medically acceptable temporal relationship between the vaccine and her injuries, as her conditions were not listed on the Vaccine Injury Table. She initially obtained an expert who later withdrew from the case. Despite diligent efforts by her counsel to find another expert, a second expert was also unable to support her claim. A third expert, Dr. Marcel Kinsbourne, diagnosed paradoxical vocal cord motion disorder but found no indication in the medical literature that a vaccination could provoke its onset or that it might be immune-mediated. The court granted Ms. Erxleben additional time to find supportive expert evidence or medical literature, but she was unable to do so. Ultimately, the court found that Ms. Erxleben's own submissions, detailing a temporal association but lacking a medical expert's opinion or supporting literature, were insufficient to prove causation. Consequently, her claim was dismissed for insufficient proof.","is_minor_inferred":0,"is_pediatric_broad":0,"special_master":"Thomas L. Gowen","petitioner_identifier_original":null,"caption_petitioner_name":null,"petitioner_attorney_name":"Edward M. Kraus","petitioner_attorney_firm":"Law Offices of Chicago Kent","petitioner_attorney_location":"Chicago, IL","adjudicator_name":null,"caption_people_backfilled_at":null,"attorney_canonical_keys":"|edward-kraus|","firm_canonical_key":"law-offices-of-chicago-kent","package_title":"ERXLEBEN v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","canonical_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_14-vv-00385","plain_text_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_14-vv-00385.txt","json_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_14-vv-00385.json","source_documents":[{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_14-vv-00385-0","title":"ERXLEBEN v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 05/10/2017) regarding 53 DECISION of Special Master (Signed by Special Master Thomas L. Gowen.)(mpj) Copy to parties.","date_issued":"2017-06-12","pdf_url":"https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/USCOURTS-cofc-1_14-vv-00385/granules/USCOURTS-cofc-1_14-vv-00385-0/pdf","pdf_bytes":255610,"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_14-vv-00385/USCOURTS-cofc-1_14-vv-00385-0"},{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_14-vv-00385-1","title":"ERXLEBEN v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 11/17/2017) regarding 65 DECISION of Special Master - Fees, Signed by Special Master Thomas L. Gowen. (fl) Copy to parties.","date_issued":"2017-12-12","pdf_url":null,"pdf_bytes":null,"triage_decision":"skip","triage_reason":"fees-only decision (attorney compensation)","download_status":"skipped"}]}