Heather Tumolo v. HHS - Influenza, shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) (2020)
Case summary [AI summaries can sometimes make mistakes]
Heather Tumolo, then 26 years old, filed a petition for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program on March 16, 2016. She alleged that she suffered a left shoulder injury as a result of an influenza vaccine she received on September 30, 2014.
The case was initially assigned to the Special Processing Unit. On March 15, 2019, Chief Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey issued a ruling on entitlement, finding that Ms.
Tumolo was entitled to compensation. The respondent accepted the finding that the onset of petitioner's shoulder injury occurred within 48 hours of vaccination, while preserving the right to appeal that ruling.
The respondent also acknowledged that the petitioner suffered residual effects for more than six months and did not dispute that she satisfied the legal prerequisites for compensation. The parties were unable to resolve damages, leading to a schedule for damages briefs.
Petitioner sought compensation for pain and suffering and out-of-pocket medical expenses. Petitioner's counsel was Maximillian J.
Muller of Muller Brazil, LLP, and respondent's counsel was Jennifer Leigh Reynaud of the U.S. Department of Justice.
The factual history detailed Ms. Tumolo's experience of severe pain in her left shoulder immediately following the vaccination, which progressed over weeks and months, limiting her range of motion and ability to perform daily activities.
She received medical treatment including physical therapy, steroid injections, and ultimately underwent arthroscopic surgery on August 2, 2018, for her shoulder injury. The medical records indicated findings such as supraspinatus tendinosis with a partial thickness tear, subscapularis tendinosis, biceps tendinosis, and subacromial/subdeltoid bursitis.
Later MRIs showed rotator cuff tendinopathy with a low-grade partial-thickness undersurface tearing of the supraspinatus and bone marrow edema within the distal clavicle with subchondral resorption. Petitioner's expert, Dr.
G. Russell Huffman, opined that her injury fit within the established SIRVA criteria and that her subsequent treatment, including surgery, was related to the initial SIRVA injury.
Respondent's expert, Dr. Brian Feeley, opined that a distal clavicle osteolysis was a new injury, not related to the SIRVA.
Special Master Dorsey found Dr. Huffman's opinions more persuasive.
The Special Master reviewed the severity and duration of Ms. Tumolo's injury, noting periods of treatment interspersed with gaps.
The medical records indicated severe pain for approximately nine months initially, followed by another period of treatment in 2016, and then a period leading up to surgery in 2018. Post-operatively, records documented good range of motion and function with no significant pain.
The Special Master found insufficient evidence to support a claim of permanent injury or future pain and suffering, citing the lack of a disability rating and Dr. Abboud's notes of improvement.
On October 27, 2020, Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey issued a decision awarding Ms. Tumolo $170,000.00 for actual pain and suffering and $1,926.60 for past unreimbursable medical expenses, totaling $171,926.60.
Compensation for future pain and suffering was denied due to insufficient evidence of permanent disability. The decision was published.
Theory of causation
Petitioner Heather Tumolo, age 26, received an influenza vaccine on September 30, 2014, and subsequently developed left shoulder pain consistent with Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration (SIRVA). The respondent accepted that the onset of injury occurred within 48 hours of vaccination and that the injury met the criteria for SIRVA as defined by the Vaccine Injury Table. Petitioner's expert, Dr. G. Russell Huffman, opined that the petitioner's entire course of treatment, including surgery in 2018 for distal clavicle osteolysis, was causally related to the September 30, 2014 vaccination. Respondent's expert, Dr. Brian Feeley, opined that the distal clavicle osteolysis was a new injury due to overuse, not related to the SIRVA. Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey found Dr. Huffman's opinion more persuasive, concluding that the osteolysis was caused by inflammation from the original SIRVA injury. The Special Master awarded $170,000.00 for actual pain and suffering and $1,926.60 for past unreimbursable medical expenses, totaling $171,926.60, but denied compensation for future pain and suffering due to insufficient evidence of permanent disability. The decision was issued on October 27, 2020. Petitioner's counsel was Maximillian J. Muller, and respondent's counsel was Jennifer Leigh Reynaud.