Virginia Rossiter v. HHS - Influenza, Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (2022)

Virginia Rossiter filed a petition alleging that she suffered Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss as a result of receiving an influenza vaccine and a Shingrix vaccine on September 10, 2018. She initially filed her petition pro se but later obtained counsel.

The case involved a covered influenza vaccine and an uncovered Shingrix vaccine administered on the same day, presenting a challenge in differentiating causation. Rossiter acknowledged the difficulty in proving that the covered influenza vaccine was the cause of her injury, stating that she would be unable to prove entitlement to compensation.

She filed an expert report which indicated that either vaccine could have caused her autoimmune condition, but did not establish that the covered flu vaccine was more likely than not the cause. Consequently, Rossiter filed a motion to dismiss her own petition, recognizing that proceeding further would be unreasonable and a waste of resources.

The Special Master granted her motion, dismissing the petition and entering judgment against her. The dismissal was based on insufficient proof of causation for the alleged injury from the covered vaccine.