L.G. v. HHS - Rotavirus, intussusception (2016)

On February 3, 2016, Melissa Lopez and Adam Gonzalez filed a petition under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program on behalf of their minor child, L.G. They sought compensation for intussusception, bowel resection, and related sequelae, alleging these conditions resulted from a rotavirus vaccine administered on April 9, 2015, when L.G. was four months old.

The case was handled in the Special Processing Unit before Chief Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey. On June 20, 2016, the respondent filed a Rule 4(c) report conceding entitlement, stating that L.G. suffered intussusception within the Vaccine Injury Table definition and met the statutory requirements for compensation.

Based on this concession and the available evidence, Chief Special Master Dorsey found L.G. entitled to compensation on June 20, 2016. The public entitlement ruling does not describe the first symptom, exact onset date, emergency presentation, diagnostic testing, surgery details, hospitalization, or later clinical course.

Damages were resolved by proffer. On December 22, 2016, the respondent filed a proffer indicating the petitioners agreed to the proposed award.

Chief Special Master Dorsey issued a damages decision on December 27, 2016, awarding a lump sum of $15,465.80, payable jointly to the petitioners and the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to satisfy the State of Colorado Medicaid lien. The petitioners were directed to endorse this payment to the state agency.

The decision also awarded an amount sufficient to purchase an annuity for L.G., providing three future lump-sum payments: $19,602.14 on November 26, 2035; $21,602.10 on November 26, 2038; and $23,830.63 on November 26, 2041. This award represented compensation for all damages available under the Vaccine Act.

Petitioners were represented in the entitlement ruling by Michael Andrew London of Douglas & London, P.C., and in the damages decision by John Robert Howie, Jr. of Howie Law, P.C.