David Plaut v. HHS - Hepatitis A, shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) (2024)

David Plaut filed a petition alleging a shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) resulting from Hepatitis A and B vaccines received on January 22, 2020. He claimed to have experienced shoulder pain and limited range of motion within 48 hours of vaccination.

The court reviewed medical records and Petitioner's affidavit. The medical records showed no complaints or findings related to his left arm or shoulder for nearly ten months after vaccination, despite numerous medical encounters for various other conditions.

Petitioner's physical therapy evaluation three months post-vaccination indicated no arm or shoulder pain. While Petitioner's primary care physician later noted discussions about persistent pain and weakness in his left arm since the vaccinations, and Petitioner himself stated he experienced pain and muscle deterioration, these claims were not supported by contemporaneous medical records.

Furthermore, the onset of pain was not clearly established within the 48-hour window required for a Table SIRVA claim, and evidence of limited range of motion was also lacking. The court found that Petitioner failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that his injury met the requirements for a Table SIRVA or that an off-Table claim for a shoulder injury or Bell's palsy was causally related to the vaccines.

Consequently, the case was dismissed for insufficient evidence.