Trenton Goodwin v. HHS - HPV, transverse myelitis (2025)
Case summary [AI summaries can sometimes make mistakes]
On April 4, 2019, Trenton Goodwin, through his mother Sheri McCluskey, filed a petition alleging that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine administered on March 22, 2018, caused him to develop transverse myelitis. Mr.
Goodwin was 13 years old at the time of vaccination. His claim rested on the HPV vaccine, although he received other vaccines on the same date.
Symptoms, including difficulty walking and coordination issues, first appeared on May 30, 2018, 68 days after the vaccination. The Special Master initially denied compensation, finding the 68-day interval too long to infer causation.
This decision was appealed and remanded by the Court of Federal Claims for further explanation. Following remand, a hearing was held, and additional evidence was considered.
The Special Master ultimately denied entitlement to compensation, concluding that the 68-day latency period between vaccination and symptom onset was outside the medically acceptable timeframe for inferring causation. The Special Master also found that Mr.
Goodwin failed to present a reliable theory of causation and lacked evidence of a key antibody required by his expert's theory. Petitioner was represented by Kirk “Tripp” Otto and Isaiah Kalinowksi of Rawls Law Group and Bosson Legal Group.
Respondent was represented by Lauren Kells and Sara DeStefano of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Special Master Christian J. Moran issued the final decision on October 7, 2025.
Theory of causation
HPV vaccine on March 22, 2018, age 13, followed by transverse myelitis with onset May 30, 2018, 68 days later. DENIED after remand. Petitioner, through his mother Sheri McCluskey, relied on Dr. Lawrence Steinman's molecular mimicry theory involving HPV vaccine peptide homology with MOG and cited case literature. Respondent's Dr. Partha Ghosh and Dr. S. Mark Tompkins disputed both timing and mechanism, emphasizing the long latency, epidemiology, lack of anti-MOG proof, and unreliability of modified BLAST search homology. Judge Hertling vacated the first denial for insufficient explanation, but Special Master Moran again denied entitlement on October 7, 2025, finding no reliable theory and no medically acceptable temporal interval.