{"package_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00813","decision_granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00813-0","petitioner_identifier":"Sandra Adkins","is_minor":0,"age_at_vaccination":56.0,"age_unit_raw":"years","vaccine_type":"influenza","vaccination_date":"2019-01-03","condition_raw":"shoulder injury (SIRVA)","condition_category":"SIRVA","autism_spectrum_adjacent":0,"outcome":"dismissed","award_amount_usd":null,"decision_date":"2022-04-18","extraction_version":"gemini-v2","extracted_at":"2026-04-30T02:59:24.018653+00:00","number_of_concurrent_vaccines":1,"dose_number":null,"time_to_onset_days":0,"theory_of_causation":"Petitioner Sandra Adkins, age 56, received an influenza vaccine on January 3, 2019. She alleged a shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA). Petitioner sought treatment for left shoulder pain on January 11, 2019, and was diagnosed with a shoulder contusion. Respondent argued Petitioner failed to meet the statutory six-month severity requirement due to a 17-month gap in treatment records for shoulder pain between January 2019 and June 2020, during which Petitioner sought treatment for unrelated medical issues. The public decision does not name Petitioner's counsel (David John Carney, Green & Schafle LLC), Respondent's counsel (Wei Kit Tai), or any medical experts. Chief Special Master Brian H. Corcoran issued a decision on April 18, 2022, dismissing the petition. The Special Master found that Petitioner failed to prove by preponderant evidence that her shoulder injury or its residual effects lasted for more than six months, citing the lack of corroborating medical documentation for the critical period and the reliance on personal statements. The claim was dismissed for failure to establish entitlement. No award amount is listed as the petition was dismissed.","is_death":0,"date_of_death":null,"petition_filed_date":"2020-07-02","case_summary":"Sandra Adkins filed a petition on July 2, 2020, alleging a shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) after receiving an influenza vaccine on January 3, 2019. She was 56 years old at the time of vaccination. Ms. Adkins claimed the vaccine caused her left shoulder pain. She sought treatment for left shoulder pain on January 11, 2019, at her primary care physician's office and at Cabell Huntington Hospital emergency department. At the emergency department, she reported that her \"shot was very painful and caused bleeding from her arm for [a] prolonged period of time.\" The diagnosis was a shoulder contusion, and she was prescribed oral steroids. The public decision does not describe the specific shoulder the vaccine was administered in, nor does it name Petitioner's counsel or Respondent's counsel. The public decision also does not detail the specific mechanism of injury or any expert testimony presented. \n\nRespondent argued that Ms. Adkins could not meet the statutory six-month severity requirement for her alleged injury, citing a gap of approximately 17 months between her initial treatment for shoulder pain in January 2019 and her next treatment visit on June 20, 2020. During this interval, Ms. Adkins sought medical care for various other issues, including sinus issues, neck pain associated with a mammogram, a burn on her right arm, a swollen right hand diagnosed as cellulitis, dog bites, arthritis pain, RA, myofascial pain syndrome, spinal stenosis, and right elbow pain. Medical records from this period did not document complaints of left shoulder pain. Ms. Adkins' primary care physician noted on June 10, 2020, that he was \"unsure if related to prev[ious] flu vaccine\" when she reported left arm pain that had begun with the vaccine and worsened in the past week. She was referred to neurology.\n\nChief Special Master Brian H. Corcoran, in a decision issued April 18, 2022, agreed with the respondent. The Special Master found that the record did not sufficiently demonstrate that the shoulder pain persisted for more than six months following vaccination, as required for a Table claim. The decision noted that petitioners cannot satisfy their burden of proof solely through personal attestation, and the gap in the medical record was too long and silent to conclude that six months of severity was met. The Special Master concluded that it could not be determined on the basis of the record that post-vaccination pain that manifested in January 2019 \"more likely than not\" persisted through July of that same year. Consequently, the petition was dismissed for failure to establish entitlement to an award of damages.","is_minor_inferred":0,"is_pediatric_broad":0,"special_master":"Brian H. Corcoran","petitioner_identifier_original":null,"caption_petitioner_name":"Sandra Adkins","petitioner_attorney_name":"David John Carney","petitioner_attorney_firm":"Green & Schafle LLC","petitioner_attorney_location":"Philadelphia, PA","adjudicator_name":null,"caption_people_backfilled_at":"2026-05-05 23:44:42","attorney_canonical_keys":"|david-carney|","firm_canonical_key":"green-and-schafle","package_title":"ADKINS v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","canonical_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00813","plain_text_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00813.txt","json_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00813.json","source_documents":[{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00813-0","title":"ADKINS v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION; regarding 41 DECISION of Special Master. Signed by Chief Special Master Brian H. Corcoran. (kav) Service on parties made.","date_issued":"2022-04-18","pdf_url":"https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00813/granules/USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00813-0/pdf","pdf_bytes":309247,"triage_decision":"keep","triage_reason":"docketText matches keep keyword 'decision of special master'","download_status":"ok","registry_pdf_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/pdf/USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00813/USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00813-0"},{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00813-1","title":"ADKINS v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION; regarding 48 DECISION of Special Master - Fees. Signed by Chief Special Master Brian H. Corcoran. (kav) Service on parties made.","date_issued":"2022-08-08","pdf_url":null,"pdf_bytes":null,"triage_decision":"skip","triage_reason":"fees-only decision (attorney compensation)","download_status":"skipped"}]}