B.C. v. HHS - seizures (2019)

Zachary Childree and Megan Akers, on behalf of their minor child B.C., filed a petition on June 22, 2017, alleging that vaccinations received by B.C. on July 21, 2016, caused the child to suffer from seizures. The petition was filed under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act.

The Secretary of Health and Human Services opposed entitlement, noting that B.C.'s seizures were afebrile and short, with no signs of acute encephalopathy, and that treating physicians did not link the seizures to the vaccinations. The Secretary also noted that petitioners had not proposed a medical theory for how the vaccinations caused the alleged injuries or established an appropriate onset time frame.

Petitioners were granted extensions to submit medical records and expert reports. Despite numerous extensions, petitioners were unable to retain an expert witness and never filed their initial expert report.

Consequently, on January 3, 2019, petitioners moved for a decision dismissing their petition, stating they would be unable to prove entitlement. The Special Master, Christian J.

Moran, granted the motion. The decision noted that to receive compensation, petitioners must prove either a "Table Injury" or that the injury was actually caused or significantly aggravated by a vaccine.

The record did not contain evidence of a Table Injury, nor persuasive evidence that the injuries were vaccine-caused or significantly aggravated. The public decision does not describe the specific vaccinations received, the onset of symptoms, specific medical records, treating physicians' names, or the mechanism of injury.

The Special Master found that petitioners had not demonstrated that the vaccinations "actually caused" or "significantly aggravated" B.C.'s injuries, and therefore, the case was dismissed for insufficient proof. The decision was issued on April 25, 2019.