Manya Cetlin-Salter v. HHS - Influenza, left shoulder bursitis (2019)

Manya Cetlin-Salter filed a petition for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, alleging a left shoulder injury following an influenza vaccination on December 4, 2013. She reported extreme left shoulder pain within an hour of the vaccination, and an ultrasound revealed bursitis and a small rotator cuff tear.

The case proceeded as an off-Table claim, as SIRVA was not yet on the Vaccine Injury Table at the time of filing. The court considered two theories of recovery: a Table claim (which would require meeting the six-month severity requirement) and an off-Table claim requiring proof of causation under the Althen standard.

The court found that the petitioner's initial bursitis resolved within four months, failing the six-month severity requirement. Furthermore, regarding causation for later symptoms in 2015, the court found that the petitioner failed to establish a reliable medical theory, a logical sequence of cause and effect, or a proximate temporal relationship linking the vaccination to the later injury.

Expert opinions suggested the later injury was more likely due to weightlifting or other unrelated factors. Consequently, the court denied the petition for insufficient proof.