VICP Registry Case Source Bundle
Canonical URL: https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00324
Package ID: USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00324
Petitioner: Patricia Lopez
Filed: 2020-03-23
Decided: 2020-07-09
Vaccine: influenza
Vaccination date: 2020-02-27
Condition: shoulder injury
Outcome: dismissed
Award amount USD: 

AI-assisted case summary:
Patricia Lopez filed a petition on March 23, 2020, alleging a shoulder injury resulting from an influenza vaccination received on February 27, 2020. The respondent was the Secretary of Health and Human Services. However, Ms. Lopez had previously filed a claim for the same vaccination in a separate case, 20-223V, and submitted identical documentation in both. On March 31, 2020, the court issued an order requiring Ms. Lopez to show cause why the case should not be dismissed, citing the Vaccine Act's provision that only one petition may be filed per vaccine administration. Ms. Lopez responded on June 4, 2020, admitting that the current case was mistakenly filed as a duplicate. Her counsel stated an intention to file an amended petition with a different petitioner and claim. The Special Master noted that established precedent holds that a new, unrelated petitioner cannot be substituted for the original one. Because the counsel did not indicate that the new petitioner was related to the current one, the Special Master dismissed the case as a duplicate filing for failing to comply with Vaccine Rule 2(a). The Clerk was directed to enter judgment accordingly. Special Master Christian J. Moran issued the decision on July 9, 2020. Petitioner's counsel was Christopher Lee Phillippe of the Law Offices of Phillippe & Associates, and respondent's counsel was Emilie Williams of the United States Department of Justice. The public decision does not describe the specific onset of symptoms, medical tests, treatments, or the mechanism of injury.

Theory of causation field:
Petitioner Patricia Lopez alleged a shoulder injury from an influenza vaccine administered on February 27, 2020. The case was dismissed by Special Master Christian J. Moran on July 9, 2020, as a duplicate filing because a prior petition (20-223V) had already been filed for the same vaccine administration with identical documentation. Petitioner's counsel admitted the filing was a mistake and intended to file an amended petition with a different, unrelated petitioner. The dismissal was based on the Vaccine Act's prohibition of multiple petitions per vaccine administration and precedent disallowing the substitution of unrelated petitioners. The public decision does not detail the specific theory of causation, medical experts, or the mechanism of injury, as the case was resolved on procedural grounds.

Public staged source text:

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DOCUMENT 1: USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00324-0
Date issued/filed: 2020-07-09
Pages: 2
Docket text: PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 6/9/2020) regarding 11 DECISION of Special Master. Signed by Special Master Christian J. Moran. (abs) Service on parties made.
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Case 1:20-vv-00324-UNJ Document 12 Filed 07/09/20 Page 1 of 2
In the United States Court of Federal Claims
OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
PATRICIA LOPEZ, *
* No. 20-324V
Petitioner, * Special Master Christian J. Moran
*
v. *
* Filed: June 9, 2020
SECRETARY OF HEALTH *
AND HUMAN SERVICES, * Decision dismissing case;
* duplicate case.
Respondent. *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Christopher Lee Phillippe, Law Offices of Phillippe & Associates, Brownsville,
TX, for petitioner;
Emilie Williams, United States Dep’t of Justice, Washington, DC, for respondent.
UNPUBLISHED DECISION DENYING COMPENSATION1
Patricia Lopez filed a petition under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury
Act, 42 U.S.C. §300aa—10 through 34 (2012), on March 23, 2020. The petition
alleged that Ms. Lopezsuffered a shoulder injury as a result of the influenza
vaccination she received on February 27, 2020. However, Ms. Lopez appears to
have already made a claim for this same vaccination in another case, 20-223V
(filed February 27, 2020), and she also filed the same documents in both cases. An
order to show cause issued on March 31, 2020, requiring Ms. Lopez to explain
why the case should not be dismissed given that the Vaccine Act permits “[o]nly
one petition may be filed with respect to each administration of a vaccine.” 42
U.S.C. § 300aa—11(b)(2); Vaccine Rule 2(a) (implementing the statute).
1 The E-Government Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-347, 116 Stat. 2899, 2913 (Dec. 17, 2002),
requires that the Court post this ruling on its website. Anyone will be able to access this ruling
via the internet (https://www.uscfc.uscourts.gov/aggregator/sources/7). Pursuant to Vaccine
Rule 18(b), the parties have 14 days to file a motion proposing redaction of medical information
or other information described in 42 U.S.C. § 300aa—12(d)(4). Any redactions ordered by the
special master will appear in the document posted on the website.

Case 1:20-vv-00324-UNJ Document 12 Filed 07/09/20 Page 2 of 2
Ms. Lopez eventually responded to the order to show cause on June 4, 2020.
In the response, Ms. Lopez admitted that this case was mistakenly filed as a
duplicate. Ms. Lopez’s counsel stated an intent to file an amended petition with a
different petitioner and claim.
It has been clear from the early days of the Vaccine Program that a second
petitioner cannot be substituted for the initial petitioner when the two petitioners
are entirely unrelated. Stevens v. Sec'y of Dep't of Health & Human Servs., 31
Fed. Cl. 12, 22 (1994). Counsel stated that the new petitioner and claim are
different and did not state that the new petitioner is related to the current one.
Thus, this case is dismissed as a duplicate for failing to comply with
Vaccine Rule 2(a). The Clerk shall enter judgment accordingly. See Vaccine
Rule 21(b).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
s/Christian J. Moran____
Christian J. Moran
Special Master
2