{"package_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01121","decision_granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01121-1","petitioner_identifier":"Joel Lemieux","is_minor":0,"age_at_vaccination":null,"age_unit_raw":"adult (exact age not stated in public source)","vaccine_type":"influenza","vaccination_date":"2016-10-11","condition_raw":"immune thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP)","condition_category":"other","autism_spectrum_adjacent":0,"outcome":"entitlement_granted_pending_damages","award_amount_usd":null,"decision_date":"2025-12-16","extraction_version":"manual-supplement-redo-2026-05-normal23","extracted_at":"2026-05-04 05:42:27","number_of_concurrent_vaccines":1,"dose_number":null,"time_to_onset_days":21,"theory_of_causation":"Adult petitioner; influenza vaccine October 11, 2016; ITP with petechiae/bruising and platelet count 4,000/3 by Nov 30-Dec 1, 2016. ENTITLEMENT GRANTED, damages pending. Theory: molecular mimicry/autoimmune platelet destruction. Petitioner expert Dr. Eric Gershwin; respondent experts Dr. Andrew MacGinnitie and Dr. Lisa Kreuziger. SM Gowen credited contemporaneous records showing onset about three weeks post-vaccination, found flu vaccine can cause ITP, rejected the demand for exact homology as too high a burden, found no better alternative cause, and satisfied Althen prongs 1-3. Petition filed August 1, 2019; entitlement December 16, 2025.","is_death":0,"date_of_death":null,"petition_filed_date":"2019-08-01","case_summary":"On August 1, 2019, Joel Lemieux filed a Vaccine Program claim alleging that an influenza vaccine administered on October 11, 2016 caused immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). The claim was off-Table, so he had to prove causation under Althen.\n\nBefore vaccination, Mr. Lemieux had lumbar disc disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease, hypertension, asthma, and chronic back pain from a workplace injury. After the flu shot, he developed bruising and petechiae. On November 30, 2016, his platelet count was recorded at 4,000, and on December 1, 2016 he went to McLaren Oakland Hospital with a platelet count of 3 and was diagnosed with acute severe thrombocytopenia. The discharge summary recorded new-onset petechiae ongoing for about three weeks. The Special Master found the more contemporaneous records supported onset around mid-November, rather than a later note suggesting symptoms two to three days after vaccination.\n\nMr. Lemieux relied on immunologist Dr. Eric Gershwin, who proposed molecular mimicry as the mechanism by which influenza vaccine can cause ITP. Respondent opposed compensation through Dr. Andrew MacGinnitie, an immunology/allergy expert, and Dr. Lisa Kreuziger, a hematologist. They accepted the ITP diagnosis but disputed vaccine causation, emphasizing epidemiologic studies, the lack of proven homology between vaccine components and platelet antigens, and the uncertain onset history. After a May 2024 entitlement hearing, Special Master Thomas L. Gowen found that Dr. Gershwin's theory, the medical literature, the three-week onset, and the absence of a better alternative explanation satisfied all three Althen prongs. Entitlement was granted on December 16, 2025; damages remained pending. A separate interim fee decision awarded fees and costs, but that was litigation compensation, not an injury award.","is_minor_inferred":0,"is_pediatric_broad":0,"special_master":"Thomas L. Gowen","petitioner_identifier_original":null,"caption_petitioner_name":null,"petitioner_attorney_name":"Milton C. Ragsdale, IV","petitioner_attorney_firm":"Ragsdale LLC","petitioner_attorney_location":"Birmingham, AL","adjudicator_name":null,"caption_people_backfilled_at":null,"attorney_canonical_keys":"|milton-ragsdale|","firm_canonical_key":"ragsdale","package_title":"LEMIEUX v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","canonical_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01121","plain_text_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01121.txt","json_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01121.json","source_documents":[{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01121-0","title":"LEMIEUX v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 07/11/2024) regarding 90 DECISION of Special Master - Interim Attorney's Fees. Signed by Special Master Thomas L. Gowen. (hs) Service on parties made.","date_issued":"2024-08-12","pdf_url":null,"pdf_bytes":null,"triage_decision":"skip","triage_reason":"fees-only decision (attorney compensation)","download_status":"skipped"},{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01121-cl-extra-10734549","title":"Lemieux v. Secretary of Health and Human Services","docket_text":"Supplementary opinion from CourtListener cluster 10267959","date_issued":"2024-08-12","pdf_url":null,"pdf_bytes":null,"triage_decision":"keep","triage_reason":"CL supplement: Lemieux v. Secretary of Health and Human Services","download_status":"ok","registry_pdf_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/pdf/USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01121/USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01121-cl-extra-10734549"},{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01121-1","title":"LEMIEUX v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC ORDER/RULING (Originally filed: 12/16/2025) regarding 94 Ruling on Entitlement Signed by Special Master Thomas L. Gowen. (hs) Service on parties made.","date_issued":"2026-01-05","pdf_url":"https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01121/granules/USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01121-1/pdf","pdf_bytes":430880,"triage_decision":"keep","triage_reason":"docketText matches keep keyword 'ruling on entitlement'","download_status":"ok","registry_pdf_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/pdf/USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01121/USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01121-1"}]}