Frank Crawford v. HHS - Influenza, nausea and vomiting leading to vasovagal event, fall, head injury, shoulder injury, hip injury, fractured pelvis, compressed L1 vertebrae, shoulder replacement (2023)
Case summary [AI summaries can sometimes make mistakes]
On February 8, 2018, Frank Crawford filed a petition for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, alleging that the influenza vaccine he received on September 6, 2016, caused him to suffer nausea and vomiting, leading to a vasovagal event, a fall, and subsequent injuries including a head laceration, a fractured left shoulder requiring replacement surgery, a fractured pelvis, and a compressed L1 vertebrae. The respondent, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, initially recommended against compensation, stating that the petitioner had not provided a medical theory causally connecting the vaccine to his symptoms.
The case proceeded as an off-Table claim, requiring the petitioner to prove actual causation. Petitioner's expert, Dr.
Vera Byers, opined that the high-dose influenza vaccine triggered a dysregulated cytokine release, leading to nausea, vomiting, and ultimately the vasovagal event. Respondent's expert, Dr.
You-Wen He, argued that the petitioner's symptoms were likely due to pre-existing gastrointestinal issues or a neuroreaction, not an immune response to the vaccine. Special Master Thomas L.
Gowen, in a ruling on entitlement dated July 27, 2023, found that the petitioner had established by preponderant evidence that the high-dose influenza vaccine caused his nausea, vomiting, and subsequent vasovagal event and injuries. The Special Master accepted Dr.
Byers's theory, supported by medical literature and the vaccine's package insert, that the vaccine could induce cytokine production leading to the observed symptoms and event. The Special Master found a logical sequence of cause and effect and a proximate temporal relationship between the vaccination and the injuries.
A separate ruling on damages was issued on August 3, 2023. Special Master Gowen awarded Mr.
Crawford $145,000.00 for pain and suffering and $180.00 for unreimbursable out-of-pocket expenses, totaling $145,180.00. Petitioner was represented by Richard Gage of Richard Gage, P.C., and respondent was represented by Emilie Williams of the U.S.
Dept. of Justice.