Mong Ha Vivian Cheung v. HHS - Tdap, shoulder injury induced by vaccine administration (SIRVA) (2024)

Mong Ha Vivian Cheung, born in 1958, filed a petition on March 5, 2019, alleging that a tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine administered on March 7, 2016, caused her to suffer a shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA). Initially, the respondent, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, contested entitlement, arguing that Ms.

Cheung's pre-existing neck pain that radiated into her arm precluded a SIRVA diagnosis and that she had not established causation-in-fact for an off-Table claim due to a lack of an expert report. However, after Ms.

Cheung submitted an expert report from Dr. Marko Bodor, who opined that her neck pain was separate from her post-vaccination shoulder pain and that she qualified for SIRVA, the respondent conceded entitlement.

The case then proceeded to a damages adjudication before Special Master Christian J. Moran.

Ms. Cheung's medical history included right neck pain in 2012, with an MRI revealing a bulging disc at C5-6.

On the day of vaccination, March 7, 2016, she complained of neck pain and was referred for physical therapy. The day after vaccination, she reported arm pain, and her doctor assessed her with acute pain of the right shoulder, likely a side effect of the Tdap vaccine.

She experienced pain that made driving and dressing difficult and woke her from sleep. She received treatment including physical therapy and acupuncture in the United States and Hong Kong over several years.

Records indicate her neck problem resolved by April 4, 2016, but shoulder pain persisted. An MRI of her right shoulder on April 19, 2016, showed inflammation in the bursa but an intact rotator cuff.

By mid-August 2016, Ms. Cheung reported her condition only slightly affected her quality of life, and a provider noted her shoulder pain as "residual." By September 2016, she reported no pain with activities of daily life.

In January 2017, she reported no pain in her right shoulder, though she experienced pain in her right shoulder and cervical spine rated 5-6 out of 10, with an overall improvement of 80%. Her care in early 2017 focused primarily on neck pain.

In September 2023, an MRI of her right shoulder revealed a rotator cuff tear. Dr.

Bodor reviewed this MRI and indicated Ms. Cheung had a moderate disability.

The Secretary's expert, Dr. Bishop, opined that the rotator cuff tear was due to age-related degenerative changes and not the vaccine injury, a conclusion supported by the fact that Ms.

Cheung's initial shoulder MRI in 2016 showed an intact rotator cuff and that she reported no shoulder pain in January 2017. Special Master Moran found that Ms.

Cheung's SIRVA largely resolved by March 2017 and that the subsequent rotator cuff tear was due to age-related degenerative changes, not the vaccine injury. Therefore, compensation for future pain and suffering or future medical expenses was denied.

The Special Master awarded Ms. Cheung $93,710.66.

This amount comprised $90,000 for past pain, suffering, and emotional distress, $1,884.37 for past unreimbursed medical expenses (limited to treatment through January 7, 2017, as her SIRVA resolved around March 2017), and $1,826.29 for a Medicaid lien. The award for past pain and suffering was set at $90,000, reflecting the finding that her SIRVA was resolved about one year after vaccination and that the rotator cuff tear was age-related.

Petitioner's counsel was Michael Firestone of Marvin Firestone and Associates, and respondent's counsel was Michael J. Lang of the United States Department of Justice.

The decision was issued by Special Master Christian J. Moran on June 12, 2024.