Ruby Katherine Gordon v. HHS - Influenza, Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM) (2022)
Case summary [AI summaries can sometimes make mistakes]
On March 23, 2018, Ruby Katherine Gordon, as the parent and natural guardian of C.C., a minor, filed a petition seeking compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. The petition alleged that C.C. suffered from Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM) as a result of receiving an influenza vaccine on October 30, 2015.
C.C. was born on May 2, 2011, making him approximately 4.5 years old at the time of vaccination. Petitioner alleged that C.C.'s symptoms began after the vaccination.
Respondent, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, argued that contemporaneous medical records indicated C.C.'s headaches and behavioral problems predated the vaccination. The Special Master reviewed medical records, expert reports from Dr.
Maria Fangchun Chen (petitioner's expert) and Dr. Peter M.
Bingham (respondent's expert), and affidavits. Dr.
Chen opined that C.C. had ADEM caused by the vaccine, while Dr. Bingham argued against vaccine causation, citing the timing of symptoms and the lack of support for an ADEM diagnosis.
The Special Master found that while C.C.'s white matter lesions on MRI were consistent with ADEM, the contemporaneous medical records, including those from November 10, 2015, December 16, 2015, and January 29, 2016, consistently indicated that C.C.'s headaches and behavioral issues began prior to the October 30, 2015 vaccination. The Special Master afforded greater weight to these contemporaneous records over the petitioner's later affidavits.
Consequently, the Special Master determined that the alleged injury could not have been caused by the vaccine and granted the respondent's motion to dismiss the petition. The decision was issued by Special Master Thomas L.
Gowen on August 31, 2022.
Theory of causation
Petitioner alleged that C.C., age 4.5, suffered from Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM) caused by an influenza vaccine received on October 30, 2015. Petitioner's expert, Dr. Maria Fangchun Chen, opined that C.C.'s MRI findings supported a diagnosis of ADEM and that the flu vaccination was the triggering immune event. Respondent's expert, Dr. Peter M. Bingham, opined that C.C.'s symptoms predated the vaccination, that the clinical course did not support an ADEM diagnosis, and that the evidence did not support vaccine causation for C.C.'s conditions, including ADHD. The Special Master found that while C.C.'s MRI findings were consistent with ADEM, contemporaneous medical records from November 10, 2015, December 16, 2015, and January 29, 2016, indicated that C.C.'s headaches and behavioral issues began prior to the vaccination. The Special Master gave greater weight to these contemporaneous records over petitioner's later affidavits, concluding that the injury could not have been caused by the vaccine. The petition was dismissed by Special Master Thomas L. Gowen on August 31, 2022. Attorneys for petitioner were Leigh Finfer and Muller Brazil, LLP. Attorney for respondent was Camille Collett.
Source PDFs
USCOURTS-cofc-1_18-vv-00431