Justin Burroughs v. HHS - Tdap, Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration (SIRVA) (2024)
Case summary [AI summaries can sometimes make mistakes]
On January 5, 2021, Justin Burroughs filed a petition seeking compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, alleging that a Tdap vaccine administered on December 23, 2019, caused him to develop a Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration (SIRVA). Mr.
Burroughs, who was 27 years old at the time of vaccination, reported experiencing left shoulder pain and limited range of motion within hours of receiving the vaccine. His treating physicians diagnosed his condition as SIRVA.
The petitioner provided medical records detailing his symptoms, treatment, and evaluations by orthopedic specialists. The respondent initially contested entitlement, arguing that the injury did not meet the severity requirement and could be attributed to pre-existing shoulder pathology or athletic activity.
However, Special Master Daniel T. Horner issued a ruling on entitlement on May 21, 2024, finding that Mr.
Burroughs's injury met the criteria for a Table SIRVA, noting the onset of pain within 48 hours of vaccination and persistence of symptoms for at least six months. The Special Master determined that while the MRI showed some degenerative changes, these did not definitively explain the symptoms independent of the vaccination, and the injury was consistent with the SIRVA definition.
Following the entitlement ruling, the parties stipulated to an award. On July 29, 2024, Special Master Horner issued a decision awarding Justin Burroughs $72,500.00 as compensation for his SIRVA.
Petitioner was represented by John Robert Howie, Jr. of Howie Law, P.C., and respondent was represented by Katherine Carr Esposito of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Theory of causation
Petitioner Justin Burroughs alleged a Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration (SIRVA) following a Tdap vaccination on December 23, 2019. The injury was alleged to be a Table Injury. The Special Master, Daniel T. Horner, found entitlement to compensation for a Table SIRVA. Petitioner's medical records indicated onset of left shoulder pain within hours of vaccination, with persistent pain and limited range of motion for at least six months. Petitioner's treating orthopedist, Dr. Marko Bodor, suspected a left SIRVA and performed a procedure that provided symptom resolution. Respondent's expert, Dr. Julie Bishop, opined that the MRI findings were more consistent with chronic, degenerative, wear-and-tear pathology from athletic activity and that SIRVA was not the only plausible diagnosis. However, the Special Master found that the MRI findings, including a subtle cortical deformity noted as "worrisome" for a Hill-Sachs deformity, were not definitively explained by prior pathology and that activation of pre-existing pathology is consistent with the SIRVA concept. The Special Master concluded that the petitioner met the SIRVA criteria, including no history of prior shoulder dysfunction that would explain the symptoms and no other condition explaining the symptoms, by a preponderance of the evidence. The parties stipulated to an award of $72,500.00, which was awarded on July 29, 2024. Petitioner was represented by John Robert Howie, Jr., and respondent by Katherine Carr Esposito.
Source PDFs
USCOURTS-cofc-1_21-vv-00084