Nadine Lynn McLee v. HHS - Influenza, left shoulder injuries (2023)

Nadine Lynn McLee filed a petition on September 28, 2020, alleging that the trivalent influenza vaccine she received on September 27, 2017, caused her to suffer left shoulder injuries. She initially pursued an on-Table claim for Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration (SIRVA).

The Special Master, Christian J. Moran, issued a ruling on May 10, 2023, finding that Ms.

McLee failed to meet the criteria for an on-Table SIRVA claim. Specifically, the ruling determined that her pain did not begin within 48 hours of vaccination, as the majority of medical records indicated onset in early November 2017, over 10 weeks after the vaccination.

Furthermore, the records indicated the vaccine was administered in her right deltoid, not her left, and her pain extended beyond the shoulder to her neck and hand. Consequently, her on-Table SIRVA claim was dismissed.

Ms. McLee was then permitted to pursue an off-Table claim, which requires proving causation through medical evidence.

A subsequent decision on September 20, 2023, addressed her off-Table claim. The decision noted that Ms.

McLee had not filed a status report confirming retention of an expert by the deadline of July 12, 2023, as ordered in the May 10, 2023 ruling. The Special Master concluded that Ms.

McLee had failed to present preponderant evidence supporting her off-Table claim, specifically lacking a medical theory connecting the vaccine to the injury, a logical sequence of cause and effect, or a proximate temporal relationship. The public decision does not describe the specific medical experts consulted or the exact dollar breakdowns or annuity terms, as the case was dismissed.

Ms. McLee was born on May 1, 1960, making her 37 years old at the time of vaccination.

Petitioner was represented pro se, and respondent was represented by Katherine C. Esposito of the United States Department of Justice.