Rebecca E. Wood v. HHS - Influenza, shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) (2021)

Rebecca E. Wood filed a petition for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, alleging she suffered a shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) after receiving an influenza vaccine on January 23, 2018.

She initially claimed no prior shoulder pain, but her medical records indicated she had experienced left arm and shoulder pain following a motor vehicle accident in July 2017, and also had right arm pain in 2016. The court noted that her medical records showed pain radiating into her chest and down her arm, as well as neck and back pain, which are inconsistent with the shoulder-specific pain required for a Table SIRVA.

Furthermore, her symptoms, including numbness and tingling, suggested neurological involvement, and she was diagnosed with brachial neuritis in 2020, which is explicitly excluded from SIRVA criteria. The court also found that her treating physician did not believe her shoulder pain was vaccine-caused, and her post-vaccination symptoms were similar to those experienced prior to vaccination.

Due to the failure to meet the Table SIRVA criteria, specifically regarding prior shoulder pain, the location of pain, and the presence of other explanatory conditions, and the lack of evidence to establish causation in fact, the case was dismissed.