{"package_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00789","decision_granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00789-1","petitioner_identifier":"I.R.M.","is_minor":1,"age_at_vaccination":3.06,"age_unit_raw":"years","vaccine_type":"Flumist / live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV)","vaccination_date":"2014-09-24","condition_raw":"sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC) / alleged fatal seizure after Flumist","condition_category":"death","autism_spectrum_adjacent":0,"outcome":"denied","award_amount_usd":null,"decision_date":"2020-08-20","extraction_version":"gemini-v2","extracted_at":"2026-04-30T04:47:51.876512+00:00","number_of_concurrent_vaccines":1,"dose_number":null,"time_to_onset_days":2,"theory_of_causation":"Flumist/live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) administered on September 24, 2014, to I.R.M. (age 3.06 years). Alleged injury: sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC) on September 26, 2014, approximately 40-49 hours post-vaccination, attributed to a fatal seizure during sleep. Petitioners' theory: Flumist triggered an innate immune response and cytokine production (specifically IL-1 beta), which lowered the seizure threshold in a child with an unrecognized hippocampal malformation, leading to a fatal seizure. Petitioner experts: Dr. Douglas Miller (neuropathologist) opined on brain abnormality and vaccine-triggered seizure; Dr. Marcel Kinsbourne (pediatric neurologist) supported a seizure-threshold theory based on temporal proximity and malaise; Dr. Alan Levin (immunologist/pathologist) proposed the cytokine mechanism. Respondent experts: Dr. Brent Harris (pediatric neuropathologist) accepted hippocampal abnormality and potential seizure but found no vaccine trigger; Dr. Christine McCusker (pediatric immunologist) rebutted the cytokine/systemic inflammatory mechanism. Key evidence: I.R.M. had no immediate post-vaccination reaction; was active on Sept. 25; seemed tired and difficult to wake on Sept. 26 morning; found unresponsive after a nap; autopsy cause undetermined, with hippocampal malformation noted; no autopsy evidence of systemic inflammatory response. Chief Special Master Brian H. Corcoran denied entitlement on May 8, 2020, finding the causation theory scientifically unreliable and unsupported by the record. Judge Marian Blank Horn denied review on August 20, 2020, agreeing with the Special Master's assessment. Attorneys: Richard Gage for Petitioner, Julia M. Collison for Respondent. No award.","is_death":1,"date_of_death":"2014-09-26","petition_filed_date":"2015-07-27","case_summary":"On July 27, 2015, Lindsey and Raynard Martin, as representatives of the estate of their deceased son, I.R.M., filed a petition under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. They alleged that the intranasal Flumist version of the influenza vaccine, administered on September 24, 2014, caused their son's death two days later. The petitioners' theory of causation posited that the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) triggered an innate immune or cytokine response in a child with an unrecognized structural brain vulnerability, leading to a fatal seizure during sleep. I.R.M., born September 1, 2011, had a history of recurrent ear infections and an ear deformity but no significant neurological history prior to the vaccination. On September 24, 2014, at approximately 4:00 p.m., he received the Flumist vaccine intranasally. No immediate post-vaccination reactions like fever or lethargy were noted, and he was reportedly active and playing the following day. On the morning of September 26, 2014, nearly 40 hours after vaccination, I.R.M. seemed tired and was difficult to wake. His babysitter later put him down for a nap. When his mother arrived around 4:00 p.m., she found him unresponsive, face down in vomit, with discoloration and a stiff jaw. Paramedics transported him to Riverside Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:05 p.m. The autopsy did not determine a definitive cause of death. Key organs, including the heart, were donated, limiting examination. The forensic pathologist noted no congenital abnormalities or trauma, listing the cause of death as undetermined. Pathological findings included mild to moderate pulmonary and cerebral edema and congestion, equivocal focal acute hypoxic-ischemic changes in the hippocampus, and a hippocampal malformation. Genetic testing could not rule out a cardiac channelopathy. Petitioners presented three experts: Dr. Douglas Miller (neuropathologist), who opined that I.R.M. had an undiagnosed structural brain abnormality predisposing him to fatal seizures and that Flumist likely triggered the event; Dr. Marcel Kinsbourne (pediatric neurologist), who supported a seizure-threshold theory based on temporal proximity and reported malaise; and Dr. Alan Levin (immunologist and pathologist), who proposed Flumist caused an innate immune response with cytokine production that could lower seizure threshold. The respondent relied on two experts: Dr. Brent Harris (pediatric neuropathologist), who accepted the possibility of a hippocampal abnormality and seizure but found no identifiable vaccine trigger, and Dr. Christine McCusker (pediatric immunologist), who disputed the cytokine theory, stating Flumist would not produce the proposed systemic immune effects. Chief Special Master Brian H. Corcoran denied entitlement on May 8, 2020, finding the causation theory scientifically unreliable and unsupported by the record, noting the absence of post-vaccination symptoms, the nonspecific nature of the reported tiredness, the lack of autopsy evidence of inflammation, and the experts' reliance on temporal proximity. He concluded that the evidence did not preponderantly support the theory that Flumist caused a fatal seizure through the proposed mechanism. Judge Marian Blank Horn denied petitioners' motion for review on August 20, 2020, agreeing that the special master's evaluation was reasonable and that the record did not show a logical sequence connecting the Flumist vaccine to I.R.M.'s death by a preponderance of the evidence. No compensation was awarded.","is_minor_inferred":0,"is_pediatric_broad":1,"special_master":"Brian H. Corcoran","petitioner_identifier_original":null,"caption_petitioner_name":null,"petitioner_attorney_name":"Richard Gage","petitioner_attorney_firm":"Richard Gage, P.C.","petitioner_attorney_location":"Cheyenne, WY","adjudicator_name":null,"caption_people_backfilled_at":null,"attorney_canonical_keys":"|richard-gage|","firm_canonical_key":"richard-gage","package_title":"MARTIN et al v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","canonical_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00789","plain_text_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00789.txt","json_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00789.json","source_documents":[{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00789-0","title":"MARTIN et al v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 05/08/2020) regarding 85 DECISION of Special Master, Signed by Chief Special Master Brian H. Corcoran. (sw) Service on parties made.","date_issued":"2020-06-08","pdf_url":"https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00789/granules/USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00789-0/pdf","pdf_bytes":626322,"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_15-vv-00789/USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00789-0"},{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00789-1","title":"MARTIN et al v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"*RE-DOCKETED FOR PUBLICATION.* JUDGE VACCINE REPORTED OPINION re: 99 Judge Vaccine Reported Opinion. Signed by Senior Judge Marian Blank Horn. (rp) Service on parties made.","date_issued":"2020-09-26","pdf_url":"https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00789/granules/USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00789-1/pdf","pdf_bytes":508873,"triage_decision":"keep","triage_reason":"docketText matches keep keyword 'opinion'","download_status":"ok","registry_pdf_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/pdf/USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00789/USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00789-1"},{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_15-vv-00789-2","title":"MARTIN et al v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 12/08/2020) regarding 103 DECISION of Special Master - Fees, Signed by Chief Special Master Brian H. Corcoran. (omg) Service on parties made.","date_issued":"2021-03-01","pdf_url":null,"pdf_bytes":null,"triage_decision":"skip","triage_reason":"fees-only decision (attorney compensation)","download_status":"skipped"}]}