Susan Cook v. HHS - other (2025)

Susan Cook filed a petition for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program on February 21, 2019. The case has been pending for over six years without a decision on entitlement.

On April 1, 2025, Susan Cook filed a motion for interim attorneys' fees and costs, requesting $211,340.22. Respondent deferred to the Special Master to determine the legal standard for an interim award.

The Special Master found that the petition was brought in good faith with a reasonable basis, and that an interim award was appropriate due to the protracted nature of the proceedings and the accumulation of fees and costs. The Special Master reviewed the requested hourly rates for counsel and found them reasonable, awarding the requested rates in full.

A 5% reduction was applied to the requested attorney hours due to block billing and updating internal files, resulting in an award of $125,137.51 in interim attorneys' fees. A reduction of $150.78 was made to the requested costs for insufficient documentation, resulting in an award of $79,465.74 in interim costs.

The total award for interim attorneys' fees and costs is $204,603.25.