C.B. v. HHS - Rotavirus, intussusception (2016)
Case summary [AI summaries can sometimes make mistakes]
William Jake Brooks and Monica Lynn Brooks, as legal representatives for their minor son, C.B., filed a petition on November 4, 2014, alleging that a rotavirus vaccination administered on July 8, 2011, caused C.B. to suffer from intussusception, requiring bowel resection and resulting in sequelae. The respondent, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, filed a report on November 3, 2014, conceding that C.B.'s intussusception was more likely than not caused by the rotavirus vaccine and that the injury's effects lasted for more than six months.
Based on this concession, Chief Special Master Denise Kathryn Vowell issued a ruling on entitlement on November 4, 2014, finding C.B. eligible for compensation. The public decision does not describe the specific onset of symptoms, medical tests performed, or treatments received.
Subsequently, the parties engaged in proceedings to determine damages. On January 21, 2016, petitioners filed a status report indicating an agreement with the respondent on an award of $9,500.00 for past unreimbursed expenses.
On February 26, 2016, Chief Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey issued a ruling on pain and suffering, finding $144,000.00 to be a fair and appropriate amount for past pain and suffering and $1,000.00 per year over a seventy-year life expectancy for future pain and suffering. A joint status report filed on March 4, 2016, indicated that the net present value of the future pain and suffering award was $38,248.00 and that no other damages items remained outstanding.
Chief Special Master Dorsey issued a decision on May 12, 2016, awarding a total of $191,748.00. This award comprised a lump sum payment of $182,248.00 for actual and projected pain and suffering ($144,000.00 for past and $38,248.00 for future, net present value) and a lump sum payment of $9,500.00 for past unreimbursable expenses.
The total award represents compensation for all damages available under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Petitioner counsel was Curtis R.
Webb, and respondent counsel was Alexis B. Babcock.
Theory of causation
Petitioners alleged that a rotavirus vaccination on July 8, 2011, caused C.B. to suffer from intussusception, bowel resection, and sequelae. The respondent conceded that the intussusception was more likely than not caused by the rotavirus vaccine and that the injury effects lasted more than six months. The theory of causation relied on the respondent's concession, which aligned with the "Table" category of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, indicating a presumed link between the vaccine and the injury. No specific medical experts or detailed mechanism of injury were described in the public decision. Chief Special Master Denise Kathryn Vowell issued a ruling on entitlement based on the concession. Subsequently, Chief Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey awarded $144,000.00 for past pain and suffering and $38,248.00 (net present value) for future pain and suffering, totaling $182,248.00 for pain and suffering, plus $9,500.00 for past unreimbursed expenses, for a total award of $191,748.00. The decision was issued on May 12, 2016. Petitioner counsel was Curtis R. Webb, and respondent counsel was Alexis B. Babcock.