Daniel Elias Sheller v. HHS - Tdap, death / SIDS theory (2020)
Case summary [AI summaries can sometimes make mistakes]
On May 17, 2018, Chad Sheller, as personal representative of the estate of his infant son, Daniel Elias Sheller, filed a petition under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Daniel died at two months of age.
Petitioner alleged that the Hepatitis B, tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap), inactivated polio (IPV), and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccines administered on April 15, 2016, June 14, 2016, and June 21, 2016, caused Daniel's death. The initial medical examination and autopsy did not determine a cause of death, though the autopsy noted focal petechiae and congestion in Daniel's lungs.
After the petitioner filed medical records, the respondent contested entitlement. The parties discussed independent laboratory testing of tissue samples and review of autopsy slides.
Petitioner's expert was expected to complete review of the slides by August 15, 2019. Petitioner's intended causation theory was based on Dr.
Douglas C. Miller's Triple Risk Model, which posits that a vaccine can act as an exogenous stressor triggering Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in a vulnerable infant.
However, while the case was pending, the Federal Circuit rejected Dr. Miller's application of this model in a vaccine case as unsound and unreliable in Boatmon v.
Secretary of Health & Human Services. In light of this decision, petitioner moved for a dismissal on January 10, 2020.
Special Master Christian J. Moran dismissed the compensation claim on January 13, 2020, finding that Mr.
Sheller had not established that the alleged vaccines caused Daniel's death. No compensation was awarded.
Petitioner subsequently sought attorneys' fees and costs. The Special Master denied the request, concluding that the petition lacked a reasonable basis.
Judge Stephen S. Schwartz affirmed this denial in an opinion filed under seal on February 6, 2023, and reissued publicly on March 1, 2023.
The court held that the Special Master did not violate fundamental fairness by seeking additional information, applied the correct reasonable-basis standard, and reasonably found that the medical records and communications from Dr. Omid Akbari and Dr.
Miller did not provide sufficient objective evidence of vaccine causation. Petitioner was represented by Jennifer Anne Gore Maglio and Anne Carrion Toale of Maglio Christopher & Toale in Sarasota, Florida, during the review proceedings.
Theory of causation
Petitioner Chad Sheller alleged that Hepatitis B, Tdap, IPV, and Hib vaccines administered on April 15, 2016, June 14, 2016, and June 21, 2016, caused the death of his two-month-old son, Daniel Elias Sheller. The case was dismissed for insufficient proof on January 13, 2020, by Special Master Christian J. Moran, after petitioner voluntarily moved for dismissal. Petitioner had intended to rely on Dr. Douglas C. Miller's Triple Risk Model, suggesting vaccines could trigger SIDS in vulnerable infants. However, the Federal Circuit's decision in Boatmon rejected this application of the model. Initial medical examination and autopsy found no cause of death, though the autopsy noted focal petechiae and lung congestion. Dr. Omid Akbari indicated further inquiry was needed but drew no definitive conclusions. Dr. Miller described the death as classical SIDS but did not connect his theory to Daniel's medical record. Judge Stephen S. Schwartz affirmed the denial of attorneys' fees on March 1, 2023 (reissued from February 6, 2023), finding no reasonable basis under the Althen prongs for causation, as the medical records and expert opinions lacked specific connections to the vaccines. Attorneys for petitioner were Anne C. Toale initially, and Jennifer Anne Gore Maglio and Anne Carrion Toale on review, all with Maglio Christopher & Toale, Sarasota, FL.
Source PDFs
USCOURTS-cofc-1_18-vv-00696