J.O. v. HHS - DTaP, death following vaccination, alleged acute encephalopathy or hypoxia due to cytokine cascade, or vaccine-induced enlargement of the thymus obstructing the windpipe (2019)

On November 16, 2017, Mark Olsavicky, Jr. and Autumn Olsavicky, as administrators of the estate of their infant son, J.O., filed a petition under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. They alleged that vaccines administered on November 18, 2015, including Diphtheria-Tetanus-acellular Pertussis, Hepatitis B, haemophilus influenza B conjugate, Pneumococcal PCV 13, polio, and RotaTeq, caused J.O.'s death on November 20, 2015.

The petition did not provide J.O.'s birth date, clinical presentation after vaccination, autopsy findings, or details on how he was found. Petitioners initially advanced two theories of causation: that J.O. experienced an acute encephalopathy leading to death, or alternatively, that he suffered hypoxia due to an acute vaccination-induced cytokine cascade that was a substantial factor in his death.

During a status conference on August 13, 2018, Chief Special Master Brian H. Corcoran expressed doubt about the claim's viability, noting similarities to prior Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) cases that favored the respondent, and directed petitioners to differentiate their case.

In their November 2018 brief, petitioners proposed a new theory: that J.O. experienced a vaccine-induced enlargement of his thymus, which obstructed his windpipe and caused his death. Following a status conference on April 1, 2019, Chief Special Master Corcoran voiced concerns about this theory, stating his preliminary research indicated it had likely been discredited decades earlier.

He gave petitioners the opportunity to file a status report indicating whether they wished to obtain an expert report supporting this causation theory. Petitioners were unable to secure expert support and subsequently filed a motion for a decision dismissing their claim on May 31, 2019.

Chief Special Master Corcoran dismissed the case on June 4, 2019. He found that J.O. had not suffered a Table injury and that the record lacked a medical expert's opinion or other persuasive evidence demonstrating that the November 18, 2015 vaccines could have caused his death.

No compensation was awarded. Petitioners were represented by Rudolph L.

Massa of Massa Law Group, PC, and respondent was represented by Voris E. Johnson.