R.S. v. HHS - Pneumococcal, transverse myelitis (2025)
Case summary [AI summaries can sometimes make mistakes]
On February 11, 2016, Nicole Tracy and Danny Stotler, on behalf of their minor child R.S., filed a petition alleging that the Prevnar 13 vaccine administered on March 18, 2013, caused R.S. to develop transverse myelitis (TM). R.S. was approximately nine months old at the time of vaccination.
Following the vaccination, R.S. developed symptoms including lethargy and decreased movement in her extremities, leading to a diagnosis of TM. Medical records documented inflammation of the spinal cord and subsequent weakness and spasticity in her lower extremities.
Petitioners presented expert testimony from Dr. Teri Schreiner, R.S.'s treating neurologist, and Dr.
Lawrence Steinman, a neuro-immunologist, who opined that the vaccine was the cause-in-fact of R.S.'s TM, likely through a mechanism of molecular mimicry. Respondent's expert, Dr.
Stephen McGeady, contested the theory of causation. After a ruling on entitlement in favor of the petitioners on March 30, 2022, the case proceeded to damages.
The parties reached a stipulation and proffer agreement, and on February 20, 2025, Special Master Herbrina D. S.
Young awarded R.S. compensation totaling $1,476,663.34. This amount includes a lump sum payment of $1,297,837.79 for first-year life care expenses, partial lost future earnings, and pain and suffering; a lump sum payment of $37,629.32 for past unreimbursable expenses; a lump sum payment of $40,866.23 to satisfy the Colorado Medicaid lien; and an amount sufficient to purchase an annuity for future life care expenses.
The annuity payments are to be made directly to petitioners as long as R.S. is alive, with medical items growing at 5% annually and non-medical items at 4% annually.
Theory of causation
Petitioners alleged that the Prevnar 13 vaccine administered on March 18, 2013, caused R.S. to develop transverse myelitis (TM). Petitioners' experts, Dr. Teri Schreiner and Dr. Lawrence Steinman, opined that the vaccine caused R.S.'s TM through molecular mimicry, where the immune system mistakenly attacks the body's own tissues due to similarities between vaccine components and self-proteins. Dr. Steinman initially focused on phospholipids in the vaccine but later revised his theory to focus on phosphoglycerol, arguing that the phosphoglycerol molecule in the Prevnar 13 vaccine shares a similar structure with components of the myelin sheath in the spinal cord, triggering an autoimmune response. Respondent's expert, Dr. Stephen McGeady, argued that molecular mimicry is not a well-established mechanism for TM and that the components of the Prevnar 13 vaccine are antigenically different from those in the central nervous system, making cross-reaction unlikely. He also suggested that TM is more likely caused by cell-mediated immune damage rather than antibody-mediated injury. Special Master Herbrina Sanders found that Petitioners presented preponderant evidence that the Prevnar 13 vaccine was the cause-in-fact of R.S.'s TM, satisfying the Althen prongs for entitlement. The case proceeded to damages, resulting in an award of $1,476,663.34, including a lump sum and an annuity for future care. Attorneys for Petitioners were Mari Bush and Mari C. Bush, LLC. Attorney for Respondent was Althea Davis. Special Master Sanders issued the entitlement ruling, and Special Master Herbrina D. S. Young issued the damages decision.
Source PDFs
USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-00213