Brooke Biancucci v. HHS - Influenza, left shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) (2025)

On January 5, 2021, Brooke Biancucci filed a petition alleging that an influenza vaccination administered in her left deltoid on September 25, 2019 caused a left shoulder injury related to vaccine administration. She was forty-seven years old at vaccination and had no documented prior left-shoulder pain.

Nine days after vaccination, Ms. Biancucci called her primary care practice reporting left arm pain and limited range of motion that began one to two days after the flu shot, extended from shoulder to elbow, and interfered with sleep.

The same day, urgent care documented constant 6/10 pain radiating down the arm, moderately reduced range of motion, a normal shoulder x-ray, and a possible axillary nerve injury. On October 10, an orthopedic physician assistant recorded immediate left-arm pain after the flu shot, 9/10 shoulder pain, tenderness, and reduced strength.

MRI showed subacromial-subdeltoid bursitis, supraspinatus tendonitis, and subscapularis tendinosis. On October 28, orthopedic surgeon Dr.

David Gallagher diagnosed subacromial bursitis and an inflammatory reaction most likely secondary to subacromial flu injection, and gave a cortisone injection. The problem for the claim was duration.

After October 2019, Ms. Biancucci had at least seven visits for other medical issues, including left foot surgery, knee pain, leg pain, a head laceration, and an ingrown toenail, without shoulder complaints.

She did not return for left-shoulder care until February 12, 2021, about fifteen months after the last shoulder visit, when she reported increased pain and decreased range of motion associated with shoveling and heavy work around the house. In her affidavit she said she had lived with discomfort during COVID restrictions and later regained some function through home exercises.

Respondent argued that the long silent gap defeated the Vaccine Act's six-month severity requirement. Chief Special Master Brian H.

Corcoran agreed and dismissed the petition on November 10, 2025. He found that the early records supported a short-term shoulder injury, but did not prove residual effects through late March 2020, especially where Ms.

Biancucci sought unrelated care during the gap without reporting ongoing shoulder problems. No compensation was awarded.