Joan Walton v. HHS - Influenza, shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (2016)
Case summary [AI summaries can sometimes make mistakes]
Joan Walton filed a petition for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program on August 11, 2016, alleging she suffered a shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) after receiving an influenza vaccination on September 15, 2014. Petitioner stated the immunization was administered in the United States, she experienced residual effects for over six months, and had no prior award or settlement for this condition.
The respondent denied that the flu vaccine caused her injury. Despite this denial, the parties filed a joint stipulation on August 9, 2016, agreeing that compensation should be awarded.
The Chief Special Master, Nora Beth Dorsey, found the stipulation reasonable and adopted it as the court's decision. Joan Walton was awarded a lump sum of $127,500.00, representing compensation for all available items of damages.
Petitioner counsel was Ronald Homer of Conway, Homer & Chin-Caplan, P.C., and respondent counsel was Douglas Ross of the U.S. Department of Justice.
The public decision does not describe the specific onset of symptoms, medical tests, treatments, or expert witnesses.
Theory of causation
Petitioner Joan Walton alleged a shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) following an influenza vaccination on September 15, 2014. The respondent denied causation. The parties filed a joint stipulation for compensation, which was adopted by Chief Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey. The stipulation did not detail the specific mechanism of injury or cite expert medical opinions. Petitioner was awarded $127,500.00 as a lump sum for all damages. Attorneys for petitioner were Conway, Homer & Chin-Caplan, P.C., and for respondent was the U.S. Department of Justice. The decision date was October 31, 2016.
Source PDFs
USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-00129