A.S. v. HHS - DTaP, significant aggravation of her previous neurologic and/or physical impairments (2022)
Case summary [AI summaries can sometimes make mistakes]
On May 21, 2015, A.S., a minor, by her parents Jeremy and Kimberly Svagdis, filed a petition for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. The petition alleged that the DTaP, IPV, Hib, Hep.
B, Prevnar, and RotaTeq vaccinations administered on June 18, 2012, caused infantile spasms, seizures, developmental regression/delays, epileptic encephalopathy, or significantly aggravated A.S.'s pre-existing neurological condition. Petitioners initially pursued a Table claim for encephalopathy but later focused on a significant aggravation claim.
The respondent was the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Special Master considered expert testimony from Drs.
Marcel Kinsbourne, Richard Boles, and M. Eric Gershwin for the petitioners, and Drs.
Max Wiznitzer, Christine McCusker, and Shawn McCandless for the respondent. The Special Master found that A.S. did not have mitochondrial dysfunction.
The medical records indicated that A.S.'s neurological decline began around four months of age, prior to vaccination, and progressed gradually. The Special Master concluded that the vaccines did not cause a significant aggravation of her condition, nor was there a medically acceptable temporal relationship to infer causation.
The petition was dismissed by Special Master Katherine E. Oler on April 11, 2022.
Theory of causation
Petitioners alleged that A.S. suffered from mitochondrial dysfunction, making her susceptible to vaccine-related neurologic disease. Their theory posited that the DTaP, IPV, Hib, Hep. B, Prevnar, and RotaTeq vaccinations administered on June 18, 2012, triggered a cytokine response that, due to her mitochondrial dysfunction, caused overwhelming oxidative stress, cell injury, and subsequent neurological decline, leading to infantile spasms and epileptic encephalopathy. Petitioners' experts, Drs. Kinsbourne, Boles, and Gershwin, supported this theory. Respondent's experts, Drs. Wiznitzer, McCusker, and McCandless, countered that A.S. did not have mitochondrial dysfunction, that her neurological decline predated vaccination and was gradual, and that the vaccine-induced cytokine response was insufficient to cause the alleged injury. Special Master Katherine E. Oler found that petitioners failed to prove mitochondrial dysfunction and that A.S.'s neurological decline began around four months of age, prior to vaccination, and progressed gradually. The Special Master concluded that the vaccines did not cause a significant aggravation of her condition and that there was no medically acceptable temporal relationship to infer causation. The petition was dismissed.
Source PDFs
USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00520