{"package_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-00009","decision_granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-00009-0","petitioner_identifier":"Steven Pearson","is_minor":0,"age_at_vaccination":58.9,"age_unit_raw":"years","vaccine_type":"influenza","vaccination_date":"2012-10-18","condition_raw":"transverse myelitis","condition_category":"transverse_myelitis","autism_spectrum_adjacent":0,"outcome":"dismissed","award_amount_usd":null,"decision_date":"2019-08-16","extraction_version":"gemini-v2","extracted_at":"2026-04-30T04:51:15.403991+00:00","number_of_concurrent_vaccines":1,"dose_number":null,"time_to_onset_days":74,"theory_of_causation":"Off-Table","is_death":0,"date_of_death":null,"petition_filed_date":"2016-01-04","case_summary":"Steven Pearson received an influenza vaccine on October 18, 2012. He filed a petition on January 4, 2016, alleging that the vaccine caused his transverse myelitis (TM). Mr. Pearson's medical history included hearing loss, vertigo, hip pain, depression, and anxiety. He also had a history of dizziness and back pain. Following the vaccination, he experienced left chest and arm pain, initially diagnosed as herpes zoster (shingles) in January 2013. This diagnosis was later questioned due to the lack of vesicles and the radicular nature of the pain. He also reported tingling and itching in his left leg and abdomen. An MRI in September 2013 showed a T2 hyperintense focus in the spinal cord, leading to differential diagnoses including demyelinating conditions like TM. He was diagnosed with myelitis by a neurologist in October 2013. The petitioner's expert, Dr. Dahlgren, opined that the flu vaccine caused an autoimmune phenomenon via molecular mimicry or adjuvant-induced autoimmunity, and that Mr. Pearson had a genetic susceptibility due to his father's history of Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Respondent's expert, Dr. Vartanian, disagreed, stating that there was no scientific evidence to support a causal link between the flu vaccine and TM, and that Mr. Pearson's initial symptoms were more consistent with varicella zoster (shingles) than TM. Dr. Vartanian also argued that the onset of symptoms, whether in January 2013 (11 weeks post-vaccination) or November 2012 (violating the statute of limitations), was outside the medically acceptable timeframe for vaccine causation. The court found that Mr. Pearson failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the flu vaccine caused his TM, citing the lack of a sound medical theory, the atypical progression of his symptoms, and the problematic temporal relationship. Consequently, the petition was dismissed.","is_minor_inferred":0,"is_pediatric_broad":0,"special_master":"Nora Beth Dorsey","petitioner_identifier_original":null,"caption_petitioner_name":null,"petitioner_attorney_name":"Randall G. Knutson","petitioner_attorney_firm":"Knutson & Casey Law Firm","petitioner_attorney_location":"Mankato, MN","adjudicator_name":null,"caption_people_backfilled_at":null,"attorney_canonical_keys":"|randall-knutson|","firm_canonical_key":"knutson-and-casey","package_title":"PEARSON v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","canonical_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-00009","plain_text_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-00009.txt","json_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-00009.json","source_documents":[{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-00009-0","title":"PEARSON v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 07/31/2019) regarding 67 DECISION of Special Master. Signed by Chief Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey. (am) Service on parties made.","date_issued":"2019-08-16","pdf_url":"https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-00009/granules/USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-00009-0/pdf","pdf_bytes":331048,"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_16-vv-00009/USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-00009-0"},{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-00009-1","title":"PEARSON v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 01/06/2020) regarding 74 DECISION of Special Master - Fees Signed by Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey. (nh) Service on parties made.","date_issued":"2020-02-07","pdf_url":null,"pdf_bytes":null,"triage_decision":"skip","triage_reason":"fees-only decision (attorney compensation)","download_status":"skipped"}]}