Janet Florence v. HHS - Influenza, lymphedema (2015)
Case summary [AI summaries can sometimes make mistakes]
Janet Florence filed a petition on May 28, 2015, seeking compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. She alleged that an influenza vaccine administered on December 2, 2012, caused her to develop lymphedema.
The respondent, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, reviewed the record and issued a report on May 19, 2015. The respondent stated that Ms.
Florence's claim was compensable under the Act, concluding that her left arm lymphedema was causally related to the December 2, 2012, flu vaccination. The respondent also confirmed that Ms.
Florence met the statutory requirement of suffering the condition for more than six months. Special Master Christian J.
Moran reviewed the record and, based on this review, found that Ms. Florence had established her entitlement to compensation.
A status conference was scheduled for June 15, 2015, to discuss the process for quantifying the amount of damages. The public decision does not describe the onset of symptoms, specific medical tests, treatments, or expert witnesses.
The attorneys involved were Lawrence R. Cohan for the Petitioner and Heather L.
Pearlman for the Respondent.
Theory of causation
Petitioner Janet Florence received an influenza vaccine on December 2, 2012. She alleged that this vaccination caused her to develop lymphedema. The respondent, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, reviewed the record and determined that the petitioner's left arm lymphedema was causally related to the vaccination and that the condition persisted for more than six months, meeting the statutory requirements for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Special Master Christian J. Moran reviewed the record and found entitlement to compensation. The specific theory of causation under the Table is not detailed in the public text, nor are any medical experts named. The outcome was a finding of entitlement to compensation, with a subsequent status conference to determine the award amount. The petition was filed on May 28, 2015, and the ruling on entitlement was issued on June 26, 2015. Petitioner's counsel was Lawrence R. Cohan, and respondent's counsel was Heather L. Pearlman.
Source PDFs
USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00255