{"package_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-01045","decision_granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-01045-1","petitioner_identifier":"Ivanka Phillips","is_minor":1,"age_at_vaccination":null,"age_unit_raw":"not directly vaccinated; alleged exposure at about 2 months old","vaccine_type":"MMR vaccines administered to sibling Ivan Phillips on 2008-08-25 and 2008-12-31","vaccination_date":null,"condition_raw":"encephalopathy and developmental difficulties allegedly following exposure to sibling with measles symptoms after sibling MMR vaccination","condition_category":"encephalitis_encephalopathy","autism_spectrum_adjacent":1,"outcome":"dismissed","award_amount_usd":null,"decision_date":"2017-04-06","extraction_version":"gemini-v2","extracted_at":"2026-04-30T00:44:37.575579+00:00","number_of_concurrent_vaccines":null,"dose_number":null,"time_to_onset_days":null,"theory_of_causation":"Petitioners Aprises and Ivan Phillips, Sr. filed a pro se petition on behalf of their minor daughter, Ivanka Phillips, alleging that she suffered encephalopathy and developmental difficulties. Ivanka was born on March 1, 2010. The petition alleged that her brother, Ivan Phillips, received MMR vaccines on August 25, 2008, and December 31, 2008. Petitioners claimed that in May 2010, Ivan developed measles symptoms, and Ivanka contracted measles through exposure to Ivan, leading to a cessation of her normal development. The alleged onset of Ivanka's symptoms was May 2010. The petition was filed on August 23, 2016, more than six years after the alleged onset, and thus was untimely under the 36-month statute of limitations in 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-16(a)(2). Petitioners sought equitable tolling, citing lack of knowledge of the Vaccine Program, difficulties obtaining medical records and appointments, and assurances from doctors that the MMR vaccine was not the cause. Special Master George L. Hastings, Jr. dismissed the petition as untimely on November 29, 2016, finding that the circumstances did not warrant equitable tolling under Cloer v. HHS, and also noting the lack of a proximate temporal relationship between Ivan's vaccinations and Ivanka's alleged injury. Senior Judge Lynn J. Bush sustained the dismissal on April 6, 2017, affirming that the petition was untimely and that equitable tolling was not applicable based on the precedent in Cloer v. HHS. No award was made. Petitioners were represented pro se.","is_death":0,"date_of_death":null,"petition_filed_date":"2016-08-23","case_summary":"On August 23, 2016, Aprises Phillips and Ivan Phillips, Sr. filed a pro se petition on behalf of their minor daughter, Ivanka Phillips, alleging that she suffered injuries, including encephalopathy and developmental difficulties, as a result of adverse effects from vaccinations administered to her brother, Ivan Phillips. Ivanka Phillips was born on March 1, 2010. The petition stated that Ivan Phillips received MMR vaccines on August 25, 2008, and December 31, 2008. The petitioners alleged that in May 2010, approximately two months after Ivanka's birth and more than fifteen months after Ivan's vaccinations, Ivan developed measles symptoms, and Ivanka subsequently developed measles symptoms through exposure to her brother. They claimed Ivanka had been developing normally prior to this illness but stopped developing normally afterward. The alleged injuries included problems with fine and gross motor skills, behavioral and psychological issues, learning and cognitive problems, recurrent infections, and an encephalopathy-related developmental condition. The petition noted that Ivanka was seen at Children's Hospital/Children's of Alabama on May 21, 2010, with measles symptoms and a facial rash, but no medical records were filed in support of the claim. The petitioners also stated that their pediatrician, Dr. James Womack (later identified as Wamack), had informed them that the MMR vaccine could not have caused the listed problems or autism-like behavior, and that for a long time they believed the MMR vaccinations were not the cause of their children's injuries. They asserted that this belief, along with difficulties obtaining medical records and scheduling appointments, led to the delayed filing of their petition. Special Master George L. Hastings, Jr. dismissed the petition as untimely on November 29, 2016. He found that the petition was filed more than six years after Ivanka's alleged symptoms first appeared in May 2010, exceeding the 36-month statute of limitations under the Vaccine Act. The Special Master considered the petitioners' request to extend the filing deadline as a request for equitable tolling but found that their reasons—lack of knowledge of the Vaccine Program, difficulties obtaining records or appointments, and doctors' assurances that the MMR vaccine was not the cause—did not justify tolling under the precedent set in Cloer v. HHS. He also noted that, apart from timeliness, the alleged exposure theory lacked a proximate temporal relationship to Ivan's 2008 vaccinations, as Ivan's vaccinations occurred eighteen months and fourteen months before Ivanka's birth, respectively. Senior Judge Lynn J. Bush sustained the dismissal on April 6, 2017. The court reviewed the Special Master's decision and found no error in his determination that the petition was untimely filed and that equitable tolling was not warranted. The court affirmed the Special Master's application of the Vaccine Act's statute of limitations and equitable tolling law, citing Cloer v. HHS for the principle that ignorance of the Vaccine Program or delayed discovery of causation does not constitute extraordinary circumstances for tolling. No compensation was awarded. The Phillips parents represented themselves from Chelsea, Alabama.","is_minor_inferred":0,"is_pediatric_broad":1,"special_master":"George L. Hastings Jr.","petitioner_identifier_original":null,"caption_petitioner_name":null,"petitioner_attorney_name":null,"petitioner_attorney_firm":null,"petitioner_attorney_location":null,"adjudicator_name":null,"caption_people_backfilled_at":null,"attorney_canonical_keys":null,"firm_canonical_key":null,"package_title":"PHILLIPS v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","canonical_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-01045","plain_text_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-01045.txt","json_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-01045.json","source_documents":[{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-01045-0","title":"PHILLIPS v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 11/29/2016) regarding 7 DECISION of Special Master. Signed by Special Master George L. Hastings. (kh) Copy to parties.","date_issued":"2017-01-03","pdf_url":"https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-01045/granules/USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-01045-0/pdf","pdf_bytes":563161,"triage_decision":"keep","triage_reason":"docketText matches keep keyword 'decision of special master'","download_status":"ok","registry_pdf_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/pdf/USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-01045/USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-01045-0"},{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-01045-1","title":"PHILLIPS v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"JUDGE VACCINE UNREPORTED OPINION (public version of 3/10/17 14 Opinion). Signed by Senior Judge Lynn J. Bush. (dls) Copy to parties.","date_issued":"2017-04-06","pdf_url":"https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-01045/granules/USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-01045-1/pdf","pdf_bytes":652980,"triage_decision":"keep","triage_reason":"docketText matches keep keyword 'opinion'","download_status":"ok","registry_pdf_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/pdf/USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-01045/USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-01045-1"}]}