Erica Winebrenner v. HHS - Rotavirus, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) (2020)
Case summary [AI summaries can sometimes make mistakes]
On March 12, 2019, Erica Winebrenner filed a petition under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act on behalf of her deceased minor child, S.W. S.W. was born on January 17, 2017.
On March 14, 2017, at his two-month checkup, S.W. received the Pediarix, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), Prevnar, and rotavirus vaccines. The petition alleged that after returning home from vaccinations, S.W. became lethargic and refused to eat.
The following morning, he was unresponsive, and an ambulance was called. S.W. was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The emergency room physician listed the cause of death as cardiac-respiratory arrest/Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), while the coroner listed the cause as undetermined. Respondent filed a Rule 4(c) report on July 22, 2019, recommending against compensation.
The case was reassigned to Special Master Daniel T. Horner on August 26, 2019.
On September 3, 2019, Special Master Horner ordered the petitioner to file an expert report. On December 19, 2019, the petitioner filed a motion to amend the schedule, and on January 20, 2020, filed a motion for a decision dismissing her petition.
The petitioner explained that the neuropathologist retained for the case decided not to produce an expert report following the Federal Circuit's ruling in Boatmon v. Secretary of Health & Human Services.
The expert had intended to opine that vaccination, in conjunction with a defective medullary serotonergic network, was a significant contributing factor to S.W.'s death, based on the Triple Risk Theory. However, the Federal Circuit in Boatmon held that extending the Triple Risk Theory to vaccination was unreasonable.
Despite her strong belief in the claim's merits, the petitioner determined that, in light of Boatmon, she could not meet her burden of proof. Special Master Horner dismissed the petition on January 27, 2020, finding that the record did not show a Table injury, that the medical records did not provide preponderant evidence supporting vaccine causation-in-fact, and that the petitioner had not filed an expert opinion.
No compensation was awarded. Petitioner was represented by Andrew Downing of Van Cott & Talamante, PLLC.
Respondent was represented by Catherine Stolar of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Theory of causation
Petitioner Erica Winebrenner filed on behalf of minor S.W., alleging that Pediarix, Hib, Prevnar, and rotavirus vaccines administered on March 14, 2017, at approximately two months of age, caused S.W.'s death, listed as cardiac-respiratory arrest/SIDS by the ER physician and undetermined by the coroner. The petition was dismissed by Special Master Daniel T. Horner on January 27, 2020. The petitioner intended to rely on a neuropathologist's report supporting the Triple Risk Theory, asserting that vaccination combined with a defective medullary serotonergic network significantly contributed to S.W.'s death. However, the neuropathologist declined to produce a report after the Federal Circuit's decision in Boatmon v. Secretary of Health & Human Services, which held it unreasonable to extend the Triple Risk Theory to vaccination. Consequently, the petitioner could not meet her burden of proof. Special Master Horner dismissed the petition for failure to establish a prima facie case, noting the absence of a Table injury, insufficient medical record evidence of causation-in-fact, and lack of an expert opinion. Petitioner's attorney was Andrew Downing of Van Cott & Talamante, PLLC; respondent's attorney was Catherine Stolar.
Source PDFs
USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-00379