V.L. v. HHS - Influenza, right frozen shoulder (2018)

V.L., a 75-year-old female, filed a petition on April 19, 2015, alleging that an influenza vaccine administered on September 11, 2012, caused her a right frozen shoulder, brachial neuritis, and significant aggravation of pre-existing osteoarthritis. The petitioner's vaccination record, administered by pharmacist Hemal Modi at a CVS in Raleigh-Durham, NC, indicated the influenza vaccine was administered in her left arm.

The petitioner, her husband Patrick Laviolette, and a massage therapist, Stewart Walker, testified that the vaccine was administered in her right arm. The Special Master found the petitioner's testimony, and that of her husband and Mr.

Walker, to be not credible, noting numerous inconsistencies with contemporaneous medical records and her own prior statements. The Special Master also found that the petitioner's vaccination record, which stated the flu vaccine was administered in her left arm, was more credible than the petitioner's testimony.

The Special Master concluded that the petitioner failed to establish that the flu vaccine was administered in her right arm. Even if the vaccine had been administered in her right arm, the Special Master found that the petitioner failed to establish that the vaccine caused her right frozen shoulder, brachial neuritis, or significantly aggravated her osteoarthritis.

The Special Master noted that the petitioner had a long history of pre-existing conditions, including osteoarthritis in multiple joints, osteoporosis, hypothyroidism, and anxiety. Medical records showed that the petitioner had sought treatment for various ailments, including chest pain in May 2012, which was diagnosed as thoracic outlet syndrome likely due to repetitive injury from extensive guitar playing.

The Special Master found no credible evidence that the vaccine caused her condition or significantly aggravated her osteoarthritis. Furthermore, medical evaluations, including an EMG and nerve conduction study, showed no evidence of brachial neuritis.

The petition was denied by Special Master Laura D. Millman on April 19, 2018.