VICP Registry Case Source Bundle
Canonical URL: https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-01030
Package ID: USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-01030
Petitioner: Jessica Roberts
Filed: 2016-08-19
Decided: 2018-02-22
Vaccine: Tdap
Vaccination date: 2013-08-22
Condition: left-sided numbness, parathesia [sic], and weakness, demyelinating disease, as well as non-epileptic seizures
Outcome: dismissed
Award amount USD: 

AI-assisted case summary:
On August 19, 2016, Jessica Roberts filed a claim under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, alleging that the Tdap and hepatitis B vaccines she received on August 22, 2013, caused her to develop left-sided numbness, paresthesia, weakness, demyelinating disease, and non-epileptic seizures. The respondent challenged the claim, arguing that the petitioner had not demonstrated a cognizable injury and that there was no established medical theory linking the vaccines to the alleged symptoms. The respondent also noted that the petitioner did not report symptoms until five months after vaccination, which further undermined the claim of causation. During a status conference, the petitioner was asked to provide employment records that might show earlier symptom onset, but on March 2, 2017, she reported that no such records were available. On June 1, 2017, the petitioner stated she had been unable to obtain an expert opinion linking her symptoms to the vaccination. After several extensions of time, during which the petitioner underwent medical treatment and considered her next steps, she moved for dismissal of her case on January 5, 2018. The petitioner acknowledged that an investigation of the facts and science supporting her claim demonstrated an inability to prove causation under the Vaccine Act and that a dismissal would result in a judgment against her. The respondent did not object to the dismissal. Special Master Christian J. Moran granted the motion, dismissing the petition for insufficient proof and entering judgment against the petitioner. The public decision does not describe the specific onset of symptoms, the details of the medical treatment, or name the petitioner's counsel or respondent's counsel.

Theory of causation field:
Petitioner Jessica Roberts alleged that Tdap and hepatitis B vaccines administered on August 22, 2013, caused left-sided numbness, paresthesia, weakness, demyelinating disease, and non-epileptic seizures. This was an off-Table injury claim, requiring proof by a preponderance of the evidence that the vaccine caused the injury. The respondent challenged the claim, questioning the existence of a cognizable injury and the causal link, noting a five-month delay between vaccination and symptom reporting and the absence of a medical theory linking the vaccination to the injury. The petitioner was unable to obtain employment records showing earlier symptom onset or secure an expert opinion linking her symptoms to the vaccines. Recognizing the insufficiency of evidence to prove causation for this off-Table injury, the petitioner moved for dismissal. Special Master Christian J. Moran granted the motion on January 22, 2018, dismissing the petition for insufficient proof. Petitioner's counsel was Randall Knutson, and respondent's counsel was Lara Englund. No award was made.

Public staged source text:

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DOCUMENT 1: USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-01030-0
Date issued/filed: 2018-02-22
Pages: 5
Docket text: PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 1/16/18) regarding 33 DECISION of Special Master, Signed by Special Master Christian J. Moran. (MRG) Service on parties made.
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Case 1:16-vv-01030-UNJ Document 36 Filed 02/22/18 Page 1 of 5
In the United States Court of Federal Claims
OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
JESSICA ROBERTS, *
* No. 16-1030V
Petitioner, * Special Master Christian J. Moran
*
v. *
* Filed: January 16, 2018
SECRETARY OF HEALTH *
AND HUMAN SERVICES, * Decision dismissing case;
* Tdap vaccine; hepatitis B vaccine;
Respondent. * numbness; demyelinating disease.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Randall Knutson, Knutson & Casey Law Firm, Mankato, MN, for petitioner.
Lara Englund, United States Dep’t of Justice, Washington, D.C., for respondent.
UNPUBLISHED DECISION DISMISSING PETITION1
On August 19, 2016, petitioner filed a claim for compensation under the
National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (the “Program”). 42 U.S.C. §§
300aa-1 to -34. Petitioner claimed that hepatitis B and tetanus-diphtheria-acellular
pertussis (“Tdap”) vaccines that she received on August 22, 2013, caused her to
1 The E-Government, 44 U.S.C. § 3501 note (2012) (Federal Management and Promotion of
Electronic Government Services). Pursuant to Vaccine Rule 18(b), the parties have 14 days to
file a motion proposing redaction of medical information or other information described in 42
U.S.C. § 300aa-12(d)(4). Any redactions ordered by the special master will appear in the
document posted on the website.

Case 1:16-vv-01030-UNJ Document 36 Filed 02/22/18 Page 2 of 5
develop “left-sided numbness, parathesia [sic], and weakness, demyelinating
disease, as well as non-epileptic seizures.” Pet. at 1.
Respondent challenged petitioner’s eligibility for compensation under the
Program for two primary reasons. First, respondent questioned whether petitioner
actually suffered a cognizable injury, as required by the Act. Resp’t’s Rep., filed
Dec. 15, 2016, at 11. As the Federal Circuit has stated, “[i]n the absence of a
showing of the very existence of any specific injury of which the petitioner
complains, the question of causation is not reached.” Lombardi v. Sec'y of Health
& Human Servs., 656 F.3d 1343, 1353 (Fed. Cir. 2011).
Second, assuming that an injury was found, respondent questioned the claim
that the vaccines played a role in causing or significantly aggravating that injury.
Particularly, the respondent points out the absence of any medical theory linking
the vaccination and the injury. Resp’t’s Rep., at 10. Furthermore, the respondent
identifies that petitioner failed to report to her doctors any of the symptoms that
she associates with the vaccines until five months after the vaccination, further
undermining petitioner’s claim of causation. Id. at 11.
A status conference was held on January 3, 2017. During the status
conference, petitioner was advised to file any employment records that may show
that petitioner had suffered symptoms closer in time to the vaccination than
indicated in her medical records. See Order, issued Jan. 3, 2017. On March 2,
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Case 1:16-vv-01030-UNJ Document 36 Filed 02/22/18 Page 3 of 5
2017, petitioner filed a status report advising that there are no such records
available. On June 1, 2017, petitioner filed a status report stating that she has been
unable to obtain an expert opinion that associates her symptoms to the vaccination.
Following this status report, the undersigned ordered the petitioner to advise the
Court of her next steps in this matter by June 30, 2017. Order, issued June 2, 2017.
Over the next several months, petitioner requested a number of additional
extensions of time as the petitioner underwent medical treatment and considered
her next steps.
On January 5, 2018, petitioner moved for the undersigned to issue a decision
dismissing her case. Pet’r’s Mot., filed Jan. 5, 2018. Petitioner states that an
investigation of the facts and science supporting petitioner’s claim demonstrates
that petitioner will be unable to prove causation under the Vaccine Act. Id. at 1.
Petitioner states that she is aware that a dismissal will result in a judgment against
her and that respondent does not object. Id. Through informal communication,
respondent states that he does not object.
Compensation under the Vaccine Act is available in two major forms. Table
injuries, which presume causation, can be established if a prescribed injury occurs
during a set period of time following a specific vaccination. Section 300aa-
11(c)(1)(C)(i). Alternatively, petitioners can receive compensation for injuries not
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Case 1:16-vv-01030-UNJ Document 36 Filed 02/22/18 Page 4 of 5
provided for in the vaccine injury table by bringing a successful petition for
compensation under Section 300aa-11(c)(1)(C)(ii) of the vaccine act.
Here, petitioner does not claim that Ms. Roberts’s alleged injury constitutes
a Table injury under the Vaccine Act. As an “off-Table Injury,” petitioner must
show, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the vaccine caused her injury. See
42 U.S.C. § 300aa–13(a)(1). And though the Vaccine Program was created, in
part, to provide an informal plaintiff-friendly forum for adjudicating vaccine injury
claims, the Federal Circuit has made clear that plaintiff’s burden is to show that the
injury more likely than not was the result of the vaccine. See Moberly v. Sec’y of
HHS, 592 F.3d 1315, 1322 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (noting that the burden of proving an
off-Table injury under the Act is “the traditional tort standard of ‘preponderant
evidence’”).
As the petitioner herself recognizes, the evidence in the present case is
insufficient to conclude that a vaccine more likely than not caused her alleged
injury. Most probative is the lack of a cognizable injury, the lack of a medical
theory associating a vaccine and the injury, and a lack of an explanation for the
significant delay between the petitioner’s vaccination and the onset of her
symptoms. While petitioner is free to present evidence establishing that she did
suffer a cognizable injury and showing that a vaccine caused-in-fact that injury,
petitioner has instead elected to move for dismissal. Accordingly, Ms. Robert’s
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petition is dismissed for insufficient proof. The Clerk’s Office is instructed to
enter judgment in accord with this decision.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
s/ Christian J. Moran
Christian J. Moran
Special Master
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