Devon Nicole Ingber v. HHS - HPV, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and Transverse Myelitis (TM) (2020)

On July 19, 2018, Devon Nicole Ingber filed a petition under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program alleging that she suffered from Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and Transverse Myelitis (TM) as a result of receiving human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations on November 10, 2010, June 15, 2011, and August 9, 2015, and a meningococcal vaccine on August 9, 2015. The respondent, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, argued that the case was not appropriate for compensation under the Act.

The petitioner's counsel was Sol P. Ajalat of Ajalat & Ajalat, LLP, and respondent's counsel was Mallori B.

Openchowski of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey issued the decision. The petitioner initially sought expert medical reports in various fields but later filed a motion for judgment on the administrative record, stating an inability to meet the Vaccine Act's requirements.

However, in the same pleading, the petitioner asserted that the records supported a viable claim, detailing a sequence of symptoms beginning with a sore throat and fever on July 31, 2015, which she believed led to an over-activation of her immune system after the August 9, 2015 vaccinations, resulting in an autoimmune disease process. The petitioner's declaration described symptoms including nosebleeds, sinusitis, pharyngitis, abdominal pain, headache, fatigue, chest pain, weakness, and numbness, progressing to migraine headaches, light sensitivity, nausea, dizziness, joint pain, toe cramps, racing heart, reduced hearing, and memory loss.

The Special Master reviewed the medical records, noting that POTS was not mentioned as a diagnosis or even a differential diagnosis. While TM was considered a differential diagnosis, subsequent extensive neurology, rheumatology, and infectious disease workups were negative.

Specifically, an MRI of the cervical and thoracic spine was normal, ruling out myelitis. Rheumatology workups were also negative for autoimmune disease, with one physician noting the petitioner's symptoms were possibly and likely post-viral.

The petitioner did not offer any expert medical opinions to support a theory of causation, nor did her treating physicians provide opinions linking the vaccines to her alleged injuries. The public decision does not describe the specific onset dates of all symptoms, the details of diagnostic studies beyond the MRI, or the specific mechanism of any alleged injury.

Due to the failure to provide preponderant evidence of a diagnosis for POTS or TM, and the lack of a medical theory connecting the vaccines to the alleged injuries, the petition was dismissed. The Special Master expressed sympathy for the hardships experienced by the petitioner and her parents but stated the decision must be based on evidence, not sympathy.

The case was dismissed by Special Master Nora Beth Dorsey on January 31, 2020.