John R. Belt v. HHS - Influenza, shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) (2017)
Case summary [AI summaries can sometimes make mistakes]
John R. Belt filed a petition for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program on August 18, 2016, alleging he suffered a shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) following an influenza vaccination in his left shoulder on October 30, 2015.
The respondent, represented by Claudia Gangi of the U.S. Department of Justice, conceded that the alleged injury was consistent with SIRVA and that Mr.
Belt satisfied all legal prerequisites for compensation. Bruce Slane of the Law Office of Bruce W.
Slane, P.C. represented the petitioner. On January 26, 2017, Chief Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey issued a ruling on entitlement, finding Mr.
Belt entitled to compensation based on the respondent's concession and the evidence. Subsequently, on March 28, 2017, the respondent filed a proffer on award of compensation, agreeing to an award of $75,000.00, which the petitioner also agreed to.
Chief Special Master Dorsey issued a decision on November 29, 2017, awarding Mr. Belt a lump sum payment of $75,000.00, representing compensation for all damages available under the Vaccine Act.
Mr. Belt is a competent adult, and no guardianship was required.
The decision does not describe the specific onset, symptoms, medical tests, or treatments related to the alleged injury, nor does it name any medical experts.
Theory of causation
Petitioner John R. Belt received an influenza vaccination on October 30, 2015, and subsequently alleged a shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA). The respondent conceded that the injury was consistent with SIRVA and that petitioner met all legal prerequisites for compensation. The case proceeded based on this concession, and no specific medical experts or detailed causation theories were presented in the public text. The theory of causation is based on the "Table" for SIRVA. Chief Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey issued a ruling on entitlement on January 26, 2017, and a decision awarding damages on November 29, 2017. The award was a lump sum of $75,000.00, agreed upon by both parties, representing all damages available under the Vaccine Act. Attorneys for the petitioner were Bruce Slane and for the respondent was Claudia Gangi.
Source PDFs
USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-01026