Elisha M. Price v. HHS - Tdap, right shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) (2025)

On October 1, 2021, Elisha M. Price filed a petition alleging that Tdap, hepatitis A, and influenza vaccines administered on October 5, 2018, caused a right shoulder injury related to vaccine administration.

She was 40 years old. Ms.

Price had a striking pre-vaccination history involving the opposite arm: an ex-boyfriend had injected bleach into her left upper arm, causing coma, necrosis, gangrene, and reconstructive surgeries with skin grafts. Because of that history, she avoided left-arm vaccinations.

The October 2018 vaccines were administered in the right arm. She described the flu shot as the highest injection and reported immediate severe right shoulder pain.

Within weeks, she sought care for right shoulder pain. Later records described pain ever since the vaccinations, reduced function, and MRI findings that included deltoid edema and a cortical defect or contusion.

She treated with orthopedics, physical therapy, injections, and later surgery, while also developing neck and radicular complaints years later. Chief Special Master Corcoran found that Ms.

Price established a Table SIRVA. Although an early record was not perfectly precise about onset, the overall medical record repeatedly tied the shoulder pain to vaccination and supported onset within 48 hours.

The later cervical radiculopathy did not defeat the claim because the record supported a shoulder injury beginning immediately after vaccination. On September 10, 2025, entitlement was granted and damages remained pending.

Ms. Price was represented by Richard Moeller.