Melinda Mae Robinson v. HHS - Tdap, right shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) (2025)

On January 12, 2021, Melinda Mae Robinson filed a petition alleging a right shoulder SIRVA after a Tdap vaccination given during an emergency-department visit for a cut thumb on March 11, 2019. The vaccination record said the shot was administered in the left deltoid, but Ms.

Robinson consistently maintained that it was actually placed high in her right arm. Two weeks after vaccination, Ms.

Robinson reported a two-week history of right shoulder pain and said the pain started two days after the injection. She had full motion but pain and mild weakness.

Steroids helped only partly. A later MRI showed subacromial/subdeltoid bursal fluid, impingement, and rotator-cuff tearing, while EMG/NCS testing was normal.

Orthopedist Dr. Kevin Collins diagnosed a partial rotator-cuff tear, gave a cortisone injection, and then performed right shoulder arthroscopic debridement, subacromial decompression, rotator cuff repair, and biceps tenodesis on August 29, 2019.

Ms. Robinson attended about 49 physical therapy sessions through May 2020.

By then her range of motion was functional, but she still had pain with lifting and overhead reaching and diminished strength. She later returned to care in 2022 reporting that she still could not lift more than three pounds with her right hand, though imaging showed an intact repair and no further surgery was recommended.

Her affidavits described a high injection site, blood running down her arm after the shot, difficulty pulling up pants the next day, months of pain, and ongoing limits with ordinary household tasks. Her husband and nurse daughter corroborated the change.

Respondent argued that the vaccine record controlled and showed a left-arm injection. Chief Special Master Brian H.

Corcoran found the broader evidence proved the Tdap shot was more likely given in the right arm, then found the Table SIRVA and severity requirements met. On September 23, 2025, he awarded $105,000.00 for pain and suffering, finding a mild-to-moderate injury lasting about 15 months.

Ms. Robinson was represented by Bridget Candace McCullough of Muller Brazil, LLP.