K.P. v. HHS - Tdap, shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) (2022)

On January 15, 2019, K.P. filed a petition for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, alleging that a Tdap vaccine administered on September 12, 2016, caused a shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA). K.P., who was 26 years old at the time of vaccination, reported severe left shoulder pain radiating down her arm, beginning approximately 14 days after the vaccination.

Medical records documented pain, limited range of motion, and weakness in her left shoulder, with initial concerns for nerve irritation. An MRI showed inflammatory changes in the shoulder.

The respondent initially contested entitlement, arguing that the injury did not meet the six-month severity requirement and was not limited to the shoulder. However, Chief Special Master Brian H.

Corcoran issued a ruling on entitlement on May 25, 2022, finding that K.P. established the severity requirement, with residual effects lasting through at least May 2017, and that the injury was consistent with SIRVA, despite some initial reports of pain extending beyond the shoulder. The case proceeded as a Table claim.

On November 8, 2022, the parties reached a stipulation for damages. Chief Special Master Corcoran awarded K.P. $40,662.05, comprising a lump sum of $40,000.00 for pain and suffering and a lump sum of $662.05 to satisfy a Medicaid lien.

Petitioner was represented by John Robert Howie, Jr. of Howie Law, PC, and the respondent was represented by Jennifer Leigh Reynaud of the U.S. Department of Justice.