{"package_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_21-vv-01231","decision_granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_21-vv-01231-1","petitioner_identifier":"Adwoa Ampofo-Addo","is_minor":0,"age_at_vaccination":37.0,"age_unit_raw":"years","vaccine_type":"Tdap; MMR; varicella","vaccination_date":"2018-04-17","condition_raw":"MOGAD / acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM)","condition_category":"encephalitis_encephalopathy","autism_spectrum_adjacent":0,"outcome":"denied","award_amount_usd":null,"decision_date":"2025-07-31","extraction_version":"manual-supplement-redo-2026-05-normal41","extracted_at":"2026-05-04 23:59:54","number_of_concurrent_vaccines":1,"dose_number":null,"time_to_onset_days":null,"theory_of_causation":"Tdap on April 17, 2018, age 37, followed by MMR and varicella on April 24, 2018, alleged to cause MOG antibody disease/ADEM. DENIED. Petitioner advanced an immune-mediated demyelinating disease theory; respondent disputed theory, sequence, and timing. Special Master Horner denied entitlement on July 31, 2025. Later attorney-fee decision did not change merits outcome.","is_death":0,"date_of_death":null,"petition_filed_date":"2021-04-16","case_summary":"Adwoa Ampofo-Addo, a 37-year-old woman, received a Tdap vaccine on April 17, 2018, and MMR and varicella vaccines on April 24, 2018, as part of her U.S. immigration requirements. She alleged these vaccines caused her to develop myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) and/or MOG-positive acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). Petitioner presented with a history of upper respiratory infection symptoms prior to vaccination, and in the weeks following vaccination, she experienced a range of symptoms including fever, headache, urinary issues, abdominal distention, weakness, tremor, and sensory disturbances. She was hospitalized and diagnosed with ADEM post-vaccination, acute renal insufficiency, and an adnexal mass, later also diagnosed with transverse myelitis and anti-MOG positive encephalomyelitis. Petitioner's experts, a neuroimmunologist and an immunologist, proposed that the vaccines triggered her condition through mechanisms like molecular mimicry and inflammasome activation. Respondent's experts, a neurologist and an immunologist, contested the diagnosis, suggesting a post-infectious myelitis was more likely, and argued that the proposed vaccine causation theories were not supported by sufficient scientific evidence. The court found that Petitioner failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the vaccines caused her condition, noting the presence of concurrent illness and the lack of robust scientific support for the proposed causal mechanisms. The petition was denied.","is_minor_inferred":0,"is_pediatric_broad":0,"special_master":"Brian H. Corcoran","petitioner_identifier_original":null,"caption_petitioner_name":"Adwoa Ampofo-Addo","petitioner_attorney_name":"Maximillian J. Muller","petitioner_attorney_firm":"Muller Brazil, LLP","petitioner_attorney_location":"Dresher, PA","adjudicator_name":null,"caption_people_backfilled_at":"2026-05-05 23:43:29","attorney_canonical_keys":"|maximillian-muller|","firm_canonical_key":"muller-brazil","package_title":"AMPOFO-ADDO v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","canonical_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_21-vv-01231","plain_text_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_21-vv-01231.txt","json_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_21-vv-01231.json","source_documents":[{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_21-vv-01231-0","title":"AMPOFO-ADDO v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 02/27/2025) regarding 65 DECISION of Special Master - Interim Attorney's Fees. 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(mva) Service on parties made.","date_issued":"2025-08-26","pdf_url":"https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/USCOURTS-cofc-1_21-vv-01231/granules/USCOURTS-cofc-1_21-vv-01231-1/pdf","pdf_bytes":466509,"triage_decision":"keep","triage_reason":"docketText matches keep keyword 'decision of special master'","download_status":"ok","registry_pdf_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/pdf/USCOURTS-cofc-1_21-vv-01231/USCOURTS-cofc-1_21-vv-01231-1"},{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_21-vv-01231-2","title":"AMPOFO-ADDO v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 12/17/2025) regarding 75 DECISION of Special Master - Fees Signed by Chief Special Master Brian H. Corcoran. (ppa) Service on parties made.","date_issued":"2026-01-20","pdf_url":null,"pdf_bytes":null,"triage_decision":"skip","triage_reason":"fees-only decision (attorney compensation)","download_status":"skipped"},{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_21-vv-01231-cl-extra-11243375","title":"Ampofo-Addo v. Secretary of Health and Human Services","docket_text":"Supplementary opinion from CourtListener cluster 10776788","date_issued":"2026-01-20","pdf_url":null,"pdf_bytes":null,"triage_decision":"keep","triage_reason":"CL supplement: Ampofo-Addo v. Secretary of Health and Human Services","download_status":"ok","registry_pdf_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/pdf/USCOURTS-cofc-1_21-vv-01231/USCOURTS-cofc-1_21-vv-01231-cl-extra-11243375"}]}