Lee Anne Sender v. HHS - Influenza, left shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) (2024)

Lee Anne Sender filed a petition alleging a left shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) from an influenza vaccine she received on October 4, 2017. She was 48 years old at the time.

Ms. Sender claimed she felt intense pain immediately after the vaccination.

While she did not seek treatment for over six weeks, she consistently associated her shoulder pain with the vaccination from her first visit for shoulder complaints on February 13, 2018, onwards. The respondent argued that the delay in treatment and Petitioner's own research into SIRVA cast doubt on the onset timing.

However, the court found that the Petitioner established by a preponderance of the evidence that the onset of her shoulder pain occurred within 48 hours of vaccination, a key criterion for a Table claim. The decision noted that other contested fact issues remain regarding entitlement to SIRVA itself, and the case has been in the Special Processing Unit for over four years.

The court encouraged the parties to attempt settlement, otherwise the case would be transferred out of the SPU. The outcome is entitlement granted pending damages.