A.C. v. HHS - unspecified, infantile seizure disorder (2018)

On December 15, 2017, Luciana Chaves and Rodrigo Calloni, as parents and natural guardians of A.C., filed a petition alleging that numerous vaccinations administered on December 22, 2014, caused their daughter to develop infantile seizure disorder with an onset on December 23, 2014. The respondent was the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

The petitioners' counsel was Renée J. Gentry, and the respondent's counsel was Brittany A.

Ditto. Special Master Laura D.

Millman issued the decision. The medical records indicated that A.C.'s infantile seizure disorder was due to a traumatic brain injury sustained on January 5, 2015, at daycare, rather than the vaccinations.

On January 5, 2015, A.C. was found unresponsive and taken to Shady Grove Adventist Hospital. Records described A.C. as a previously healthy six-month-old who then sustained non-accidental trauma, including acute subdural hematoma, closed head injury, focal seizure, bilateral retinal hemorrhages, and acute encephalopathy.

During the first three days of hospitalization, A.C. experienced seizures, and later records documented a loss of developmental skills after the head injury. The petitioners filed a motion to dismiss their petition on December 13, 2018, stating that their investigation showed they could not prove entitlement to compensation.

Special Master Millman dismissed the petition on December 13, 2018, concluding that the medical records attributed A.C.'s seizure disorder and brain injuries to non-accidental trauma, not vaccination. She also found that the petitioners had not shown sequelae from any vaccine-related illness lasting more than six months and that no expert report supported vaccine causation.

The petition was dismissed, and no compensation was awarded. The decision was not to be published.