{"package_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_17-vv-00109","decision_granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_17-vv-00109-0","petitioner_identifier":"Frances Ruzicka","is_minor":0,"age_at_vaccination":51.0,"age_unit_raw":"years","vaccine_type":"Tdap","vaccination_date":"2014-07-29","condition_raw":"fibromyalgia and post-vaccination syndrome","condition_category":"other","autism_spectrum_adjacent":0,"outcome":"denied","award_amount_usd":null,"decision_date":"2023-12-01","extraction_version":"gemini-v2","extracted_at":"2026-04-30T00:47:38.881384+00:00","number_of_concurrent_vaccines":1,"dose_number":null,"time_to_onset_days":2,"theory_of_causation":"Off-Table","is_death":0,"date_of_death":null,"petition_filed_date":"2017-01-24","case_summary":"Frances Ruzicka, a 51-year-old woman, filed a petition alleging that she developed fibromyalgia and \"post-vaccination syndrome\" as a result of a Tdap vaccine she received on July 29, 2014. She had a history of joint pain, myalgias, and irritable bowel syndrome. Following the vaccination, she experienced redness, warmth, and pain in her arm, diagnosed as cellulitis, along with nausea. Subsequently, she reported persistent joint pain, headaches, and paresthesias. Her primary care physician diagnosed her with a \"post-vaccination reaction\" and later noted increased skin and muscle sensitivity. A rheumatologist diagnosed her with fibromyalgia, stating it appeared to be triggered by the Tdap vaccine. However, other physicians noted her symptoms predated the vaccine or were unlikely to be vaccine-related. Petitioner's experts proposed theories linking the Tdap vaccine, specifically its aluminum adjuvant, to endoplasmic reticulum stress and immune overactivation, causing her condition. Respondent's experts disagreed, stating that fibromyalgia is a pain syndrome not typically caused by vaccines, that Petitioner's symptoms predated the vaccine, and that her uncontrolled hypothyroidism likely contributed to her symptoms. The court found that Petitioner failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the Tdap vaccine caused her fibromyalgia, noting that her proposed causation theories were unsupported and that fibromyalgia is not generally considered an autoimmune disease. The court also found that Petitioner did not establish a logical sequence of cause and effect or a medically acceptable temporal relationship for her alleged injury. Therefore, the petition was denied.","is_minor_inferred":0,"is_pediatric_broad":0,"special_master":"Katherine E. Oler","petitioner_identifier_original":null,"caption_petitioner_name":null,"petitioner_attorney_name":"Patricia Finn","petitioner_attorney_firm":"Patricia Finn, P.C.","petitioner_attorney_location":"Nanuet, NY","adjudicator_name":null,"caption_people_backfilled_at":null,"attorney_canonical_keys":"|patricia-finn|","firm_canonical_key":"patricia-finn","package_title":"RUZICKA v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","canonical_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_17-vv-00109","plain_text_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_17-vv-00109.txt","json_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_17-vv-00109.json","source_documents":[{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_17-vv-00109-0","title":"RUZICKA v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 11/13/2023) regarding 106 DECISION of Special Master. Signed by Special Master Katherine E. Oler. (emh) Service on parties made.","date_issued":"2023-12-01","pdf_url":"https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/USCOURTS-cofc-1_17-vv-00109/granules/USCOURTS-cofc-1_17-vv-00109-0/pdf","pdf_bytes":1574468,"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_17-vv-00109/USCOURTS-cofc-1_17-vv-00109-0"},{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_17-vv-00109-1","title":"RUZICKA v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 11/28/2023) regarding 110 DECISION of Special Master - Interim Attorneys' Fees and Costs. Signed by Special Master Katherine E. Oler. (emh) Service on parties made.","date_issued":"2024-01-02","pdf_url":null,"pdf_bytes":null,"triage_decision":"skip","triage_reason":"fees-only decision (attorney compensation)","download_status":"skipped"},{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_17-vv-00109-2","title":"RUZICKA v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 03/24/2025) regarding 121 DECISION of Special Master - Fees. Signed by Special Master Jennifer A. Shah. (kp) Service on parties made.","date_issued":"2025-05-20","pdf_url":null,"pdf_bytes":null,"triage_decision":"skip","triage_reason":"fees-only decision (attorney compensation)","download_status":"skipped"}]}