VICP Registry Case Source Bundle
Canonical URL: https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_18-vv-01128
Package ID: USCOURTS-cofc-1_18-vv-01128
Petitioner: Dorothy J. Kapp
Filed: 2018-08-01
Decided: 2019-09-30
Vaccine: pneumococcal conjugate vaccine
Vaccination date: 
Condition: atrial fibrillation
Outcome: dismissed
Award amount USD: 

AI-assisted case summary:
Dorothy J. Kapp filed a petition for vaccine compensation on August 1, 2018, alleging that a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine caused her to develop atrial fibrillation and other adverse effects. The respondent, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, filed a motion to dismiss on July 9, 2019, based on the record. Ms. Kapp, representing herself, subsequently submitted an email requesting that her case be dismissed. The court noted that to receive compensation, a petitioner must prove either a "Table Injury" or that the injury was actually caused by a vaccine. The record did not contain evidence of a Table Injury, nor did it provide persuasive evidence that the alleged injury was vaccine-related. Furthermore, the petition was not supported by sufficient medical records or a competent physician's opinion. Consequently, the court dismissed the case for insufficient proof. Judgment was entered accordingly.

Theory of causation field:
unclear

Public staged source text:

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DOCUMENT 1: USCOURTS-cofc-1_18-vv-01128-0
Date issued/filed: 2019-09-30
Pages: 2
Docket text: PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 9/4/2019) regarding 22 DECISION of Special Master. Signed by Special Master Mindy Michaels Roth. (fm) Service on parties made.
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Case 1:18-vv-01128-UNJ Document 24 Filed 09/30/19 Page 1 of 2
REISSUED FOR PUBLICATION
SEP 30 2019
OSM
U.S. COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS
]n tbe Wniteb ~tates <!Court of jfe beral <!Claims
OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS
No. 18-1128V
Filed: September 4, 2019
************* *
DOROTHY J. KAPP, *
* Dismissal; Pneumococcal conjugate
Petitioner, * vaccine; Atrial fibrillation
*
v. *
*
SECRETA RY OF HEAL TH *
AND HUMAN SERVICES, *
*
Respondent. *
*************
*
Dorothy J. Kapp, pro se, Louisville, KY
Daniel Principato, Esq., U.S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, DC for respondent.
DECISION1
Roth, Special Master:
On August 1, 2018, petitioner filed a petition for Vaccine Compensation in the National
Vaccine Injury Compensation Program ("the Program"),2 alleging that a pneumococcal conjugate
vaccine caused her to develop atrial fibrillation and other adverse effects. On July 9, 2019,
respondent filed a Motion to Dismiss based on the record. In response, petitioner submitted a
request via email that her case be dismissed.
1 Although this Decision has been formally designated "unpublished," it will nevertheless be posted on the
Court of Federal Claims's website, in accordance with the E-Government Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. I 07-
347, 116 Stat. 2899, 2913 ( codified as amended at 44 U.S.C. § 3501 note (2006)). This means the Decision
will be available to anyone with access to the internet. However, the parties may object to the Decision's
inclusion of certain kinds of confidential information. Specifically, under Vaccine Rule l 8(b) , each party
has fourteen days within which to request redaction "of any information furnished by that party: (1) that is
a trade secret or commercial or financial in substance and is privileged or confidential; or (2) that includes
medical files or similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
privacy." Vaccine Rule l 8(b). Otherwise, the whole Decision will be available to the public. Id.
2 The Program comprises Part 2 of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, Pub. L. No. 99-660,
100 Stat. 3755, codified as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 300aa-10 et seq. (hereinafter "Vaccine Act" or "the
Act"). Hereafter, individual section references will be to 42 U.S.C. § 300aa of the Act.

Case 1:18-vv-01128-UNJ Document 24 Filed 09/30/19 Page 2 of 2
To receive compensation under the Program, petitioner must prove either 1) that she
suffered a "Table Injury" - i.e., an injury falling within the Vaccine Injury Table - corresponding
to her vaccination, or 2) that she suffered an injury that was actually caused by a vaccine. See §§
13(a)(l)(A) and 1 l(c)(l). An examination of the record did not uncover any evidence that
petitioner suffered a "Table Injury." Further, the record does not contain persuasive evidence
indicating that petitioner's alleged injury was vaccine-caused or in any way vaccine-related.
Under the Act, petitioner may not be given a Program award based solely on the petitioner's
claims alone. Rather, the petition must be supported by either medical records or by the opinion
of a competent physician. § l 3(a)(l ). In this case, because there are insufficient medical records
supporting petitioner's claim, a medical opinion must be offered in support. Petitioner, however,
has offered no such opinion that supports a finding of entitlement.
Accordingly, it is clear from the record in this case that petitioner has failed to demonstrate
either that she suffered a "Table Injury" or that her injuries were "actually caused" by a
vaccination. Thus, this case is dismissed for insufficient proof. The Clerk shall enter judgment
accordingly.
The Clerk's Office is directed to send this Decision to Ms. Kapp at the following address
via certified and regular mail.
Dorothy Kapp
7 609 Charron Road
Louisville, KY 40220
•"IDA
IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Date MindyfM ichaels Roth
Special Master
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