Allen Vela v. HHS - HPV, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) (2021)

On August 10, 2021, Allen Vela filed a petition on behalf of his minor child, J.V., alleging that J.V. developed Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) as a result of receiving human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines on September 17, 2018, and September 4, 2019. The petition was filed under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

The respondent was the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Mr.

Vela did not initially submit supporting medical records or affidavits with the petition. After being required to file these documents, Mr.

Vela filed a motion for a decision dismissing the petition on August 3, 2021. In his motion, Mr.

Vela stated that he wished to pursue a third-party action against the vaccine manufacturer directly and believed he would be unable to prove entitlement to compensation under the Vaccine Program. The case was brought as an off-Table claim, meaning the petitioner had to prove that the vaccine actually caused the injury.

To establish entitlement for an off-Table claim, a petitioner must prove (1) a medical theory causally connecting the vaccination and the injury, (2) a logical sequence of cause and effect showing that the vaccination was the reason for the injury, and (3) a showing of proximate temporal relationship between vaccination and injury, as established in Althen v. Sec’y of Health & Hum.

Servs. The public decision does not describe the specific symptoms, medical records, expert opinions, or the mechanism of injury.

Chief Special Master Brian H. Corcoran granted Mr.

Vela's motion to dismiss, citing the lack of sufficient evidence to establish the required elements for an off-Table claim and Mr. Vela's admission that he would be unable to establish entitlement to compensation.

The case was dismissed for insufficient proof. Petitioner counsel was Andrew D.

Downing, and respondent counsel was Heather L. Pearlman.

The decision was issued on September 7, 2021.