J.M. v. HHS - HPV, narcolepsy and cataplexy (2021)

On July 13, 2017, J.M., a minor, filed a petition alleging that the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, received on August 13, 2014, and again on August 18, 2016, caused him to develop narcolepsy and cataplexy. The petition also named Hepatitis A, Varicella, and meningococcal conjugate vaccines administered on August 13, 2014.

Respondent filed a Rule 4 Report recommending denial of entitlement. Petitioner filed an expert report, followed by a responsive expert report from Respondent.

Further medical records and an affidavit were filed by Petitioner, along with another expert report from Respondent. A Rule 5 conference was held on February 18, 2021, where the Special Master tentatively found the onset of Petitioner's narcolepsy to be in July 2016.

Petitioner subsequently filed a motion for decision, stating that his expert could no longer support causation given the court's tentative findings on symptom onset. Petitioner waived his right to a hearing, acknowledging this would likely result in an unfavorable decision.

The parties then filed a joint status report indicating the record was complete and a decision was appropriate. Special Master Katherine E.

Oler issued the decision on October 12, 2021, dismissing the petition. The decision noted that Petitioner's medical records from August 18, 2016, and August 29, 2016, were more persuasive than later records mentioning litigation, and indicated symptoms began around July 2016.

This timing was more than a year after the first HPV vaccine and before the second. Respondent's expert, Dr.

Maryann Deak, opined that there was no probable causal link between the HPV vaccine and narcolepsy, and that the timing of J.M.'s symptoms was inconsistent with a vaccine-related event. Petitioner's own expert, Dr.

Steinman, was unable to support causation given the Special Master's tentative findings on symptom onset. As J.M. could not establish by preponderant evidence that the vaccine caused his condition and lacked expert support for causation, his petition was dismissed.

The public decision does not detail the specific dollar amount of any award, the names of counsel, or the specific mechanism of injury.