VICP Registry Case Source Bundle
Canonical URL: https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00352
Package ID: USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00352
Petitioner: Wendy A. Adams
Filed: 2015-04-08
Decided: 2018-10-23
Vaccine: influenza
Vaccination date: 2013-10-08
Condition: cerebellar ataxia and acute cerebellitis
Outcome: compensated
Award amount USD: 266077

AI-assisted case summary:
On April 8, 2015, Jeanette J. Foster, as Power of Attorney for Wendy A. Adams, filed a petition for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. The petition alleged that Ms. Adams developed cerebellar ataxia and acute cerebellitis after receiving an influenza vaccine on October 8, 2013. Respondent, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, denied that the vaccine caused Ms. Adams' injuries. The case caption was later amended to reflect Jeanette J. Foster as Power of Attorney for Wendy A. Adams. On January 11, 2017, Special Master Mindy Michaels Roth granted petitioner's motion for interim costs, awarding $10,696.38. This amount included $9,500.00 for the fees of expert witness Lawrence Steinman, M.D. The decision noted that the case had been pending for approximately 21 months and that a hearing was unlikely until 2018, justifying the interim award to prevent counsel from being unduly financially burdened. On September 28, 2018, the parties filed a joint stipulation to settle the case. Respondent agreed to pay a lump sum of $200,000.00 for pain and suffering, payable to petitioner as guardian/conservator of Ms. Adams' estate. Additionally, respondent agreed to pay a lump sum of $66,077.33 to reimburse the North Carolina Medicaid lien, payable jointly to petitioner as guardian/conservator and the North Carolina Division of Medical Assistance. This total award of $266,077.33 was to represent compensation for all damages available under the Vaccine Act. Special Master Mindy Michaels Roth adopted the parties' stipulation and directed the clerk of the court to enter judgment accordingly on October 23, 2018. Petitioner was represented by Nancy Meyers of Ward Black Law, and respondent was represented by Douglas Ross and later Colleen Hartley of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Theory of causation field:
Petitioner alleged that Wendy A. Adams suffered from acute cerebellitis and acute cerebellar ataxia after receiving an influenza vaccine on or about October 8, 2013. Respondent denied that the vaccine caused the alleged injuries. The parties reached a settlement, and the case was resolved via joint stipulation. The public decision does not describe the specific medical mechanism or expert testimony regarding causation, nor does it detail the onset or specific symptoms of the alleged injuries. The settlement included an award of $200,000.00 for pain and suffering and $66,077.33 for reimbursement of the North Carolina Medicaid lien, totaling $266,077.33. Special Master Mindy Michaels Roth issued the decision on the joint stipulation on October 23, 2018. Petitioner's counsel was Nancy Meyers, and respondent's counsel was Colleen Hartley. An interim award of $10,696.38 for costs, including $9,500.00 for expert witness Lawrence Steinman, M.D., was previously awarded by Special Master Roth on January 11, 2017.

Public staged source text:

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DOCUMENT 1: USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00352-0
Date issued/filed: 2017-01-11
Pages: 2
Docket text: PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 12/13/2016) regarding 66 DECISION of Special Master - Interim Costs ONLY. Signed by Special Master Mindy Michaels Roth. (mw) Copy to parties.
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Case 1:15-vv-00352-UNJ Document 74 Filed 01/11/17 Page 1 of 2
In the United States Court of Federal Claims
OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS
No. 15-352V
Filed: December 13, 2016
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
JEANETTE J. FOSTER, * UNPUBLISHED
as Power of Attorney For *
WENDY A. ADAMS *
* Interim Costs; Respondent
Petitioner, * Does Not Oppose
v. *
*
SECRETARY OF HEALTH *
AND HUMAN SERVICES, *
*
Respondent. *
*
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nancy Meyers, Ward Black Law, Greensboro, NC, for petitioner.
Douglas Ross, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for respondent.
DECISION ON INTERIM COSTS1
Roth, Special Master:
On April 8, 2015, Jeanette J. Foster (“Ms. Foster” or “petitioner”) filed a petition for
compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, 42 U.S.C. §300aa-10,
et seq.,2 (the “Vaccine Act”), as power of attorney for Wendy A. Adams. Petitioner alleged that
Ms. Adams developed cerebellar ataxia and acute cerebellitis after receiving an influenza
vaccine on October 8, 2013. See generally Petition (“Pet.”), ECF No. 1.
Petitioner now seeks an award of interim costs in the amount of $10,696.38. Interim
Motion for Costs Only (“Motion for Costs”), ECF No. 53. Respondent has indicated that she has
1 Because this unpublished decision contains a reasoned explanation for the action in this case,
the undersigned intends to post it on the United States Court of Federal Claims' website, in
accordance with the E-Government Act of 2002. 44 U.S.C. § 3501 note (2012) (Federal
Management and Promotion of Electronic Government Services). In accordance with Vaccine
Rule 18(b), petitioner has 14 days to identify and move to redact medical or other information,
the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy. If, upon review,
the undersigned agrees that the identified material fits within this definition, the undersigned will
redact such material from public access.
2 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, Pub. L. No. 99-660, 100 Stat. 3755.
Hereinafter, for ease of citation, all “§” references to the Vaccine Act will be to the pertinent
subparagraph of 42 U.S.C. § 300aa (2012).

Case 1:15-vv-00352-UNJ Document 74 Filed 01/11/17 Page 2 of 2
no objection to petitioner’s application for interim costs. After careful consideration, the
undersigned has determined to grant the request.
Interim fees and costs may be paid at the discretion of the special master. See Avera v.
Sec’y of HHS, 515 F.3d 1343, 1352 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (“Interim fees are particularly appropriate in
cases where proceedings are protracted and costly experts must be retained.”) While this matter
has not been pending for a “protracted” amount of time,3 an anticipated conclusion does not
appear to be imminent. Due to the amount of cases currently scheduled for hearing, it is unlikely
that this matter will be set for hearing until some time in 2018. Petitioner obtained the services of
expert witness, Lawrence Steinman, M.D. Dr. Steinman’s fees account for $9,500.00 of the
$10,696.38 in costs that petitioner has requested. Pet. Ex. 51, filed Nov. 10, 2016 [ECF No. 59].
Therefore, an award of interim costs is appropriate so that counsel is not unduly financially
burdened during protracted litigation.
The undersigned would like to emphasize that interim fees and costs are not routinely
awarded. Woods v. Sec’y of HHS, 105 Fed. Cl. 148, 154 (Fed. Cl. 2012). Interim fees and costs
are the exception, rather than the rule. However, based on the overall circumstances of this case
and the reasonableness of the request for costs, the undersigned GRANTS petitioner’s motion
for attorneys’ costs.
Accordingly, the undersigned awards a lump sum of $10,696.38 in the form of a
check jointly payable to petitioner and petitioner’s counsel, Nancy Meyers.
The clerk of the court shall enter judgment in accordance herewith.4
IT IS SO ORDERED.
s/Mindy Michaels Roth
Mindy Michaels Roth
Special Master
3 This matter has been pending for approximately 21 months.
4 Pursuant to Vaccine Rule 11(a), entry of judgment can be expedited by the parties’ joint filing
of notice renouncing the right to seek review.
2

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DOCUMENT 2: USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00352-2
Date issued/filed: 2018-10-23
Pages: 8
Docket text: PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 9/28/2018) regarding 116 DECISION Stipulation/Proffer. Signed by Special Master Mindy Michaels Roth. (mw) Service on parties made.
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Case 1:15-vv-00352-UNJ Document 123 Filed 10/23/18 Page 1 of 8
In the United States Court of Federal Claims
OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS
No. 15-352V
Filed: September 28, 2018
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
JEANETTE J. FOSTER, as Power of * UNPUBLISHED
Attorney For WENDY A. ADAMS, *
*
Petitioner, * Decision on Joint Stipulation;
* Acute Cerebellitis; Acute
v. * Cerebellar Ataxia; Influenza
* (“Flu”) Vaccine
SECRETARY OF HEALTH *
AND HUMAN SERVICES, *
*
Respondent. *
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nancy Meyers, Esq., Ward Black Law, Greensboro, NC, for petitioner.
Colleen Hartley, Esq., US Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for respondent.
DECISION ON JOINT STIPULATION1
Roth, Special Master:
On April 8, 2015, Wendy A. Adams [“Ms. Adams”] filed a petition for compensation under
the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.2 On April 13, 2016, the case caption was
amended to reflect Jeanette J. Foster [“Ms. Foster” or “petitioner”], as Power of Attorney, in her
representative capacity for Ms. Adams. See Order, ECF No. 48. Petitioner alleges that Ms. Adams
suffered from acute cerebellitis and acute cerebellar ataxia after receiving an influenza vaccination
on or about October 8, 2013. Stipulation at ¶¶ 1-4, ECF No. 115. Respondent denies that the
influenza vaccine caused any of Ms. Adams’ injuries. Stipulation at ¶ 6.
1 Although this Decision has been formally designated “unpublished,” it will nevertheless be posted on the
Court of Federal Claims’s website, in accordance with the E-Government Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-
347, 116 Stat. 2899, 2913 (codified as amended at 44 U.S.C. § 3501 note (2006)). This means the Decision
will be available to anyone with access to the internet. However, the parties may object to the Decision’s
inclusion of certain kinds of confidential information. Specifically, under Vaccine Rule 18(b), each party
has fourteen days within which to request redaction “of any information furnished by that party: (1) that is
a trade secret or commercial or financial in substance and is privileged or confidential; or (2) that includes
medical files or similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
privacy.” Vaccine Rule 18(b). Otherwise, the whole Decision will be available to the public. Id.
2 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, Pub. L. No. 99-660, 100 Stat. 3755. Hereinafter, for ease
of citation, all “§” references to the Vaccine Act will be to the pertinent subparagraph of 42 U.S.C. § 300aa
(2012).

Case 1:15-vv-00352-UNJ Document 123 Filed 10/23/18 Page 2 of 8
Nevertheless, the parties have agreed to settle the case. On September 28, 2018, the parties
filed a joint stipulation agreeing to settle this case and describing the settlement terms.
Respondent agrees to issue the following payments:
(1) A lump sum of $200,000.00, representing compensation for pain and suffering,
in the form of a check payable to petitioner as guardian/conservator of the estate
of Wendy A. Adams for the benefit of Wendy A. Adams. No payment shall be made
until petitioner provides respondent with documentation establishing that she has been
appointed as guardian/conservator of Wendy A. Adams’ estate; and
(2) A lump sum of $66,077.33, representing reimbursement of the state of North
Carolina Medicaid lien, in the form of a check payable jointly to petitioner as
guardian/conservator of the estate of Wendy A. Adams and
Division of Medical Assistance
Office of the Controller
2022 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-2022
This lump sum represents full satisfaction of any right of subrogation, assignment,
claim, lien or cause of action the state of North Carolina may have against the individual
as a result of any Medicaid payments the state of North Carolina has made to or on
behalf of Wendy A. Adams from the date of her eligibility for benefits through the date
of judgment in this case as result of her alleged vaccine-related injury suffered on or
about October 8, 2013, under Title XIX of the Social Security Act. Petitioner as
guardian/conservator of the estate of Wendy A. Adams agrees to endorse this check to
the state of North Carolina.
The payments listed above represent compensation for all damages that would be available
under § 300aa-15(a).
I adopt the parties’ stipulation attached hereto, and award compensation in the amount and
on the terms set forth therein. The clerk of the court is directed to enter judgment in accordance
with this decision.3
IT IS SO ORDERED.
s/ Mindy Michaels Roth
Mindy Michaels Roth
Special Master
3 Pursuant to Vaccine Rule 11(a), entry of judgment can be expedited by each party filing a notice
renouncing the right to seek review.
2

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