{"package_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_22-vv-01384","decision_granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_22-vv-01384-cl-extra-11315924","petitioner_identifier":"Mark Radke","is_minor":0,"age_at_vaccination":67.0,"age_unit_raw":"years","vaccine_type":"pneumococcal","vaccination_date":"2019-09-30","condition_raw":"polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), vacated and remanded entitlement claim","condition_category":"other","autism_spectrum_adjacent":0,"outcome":"unclear","award_amount_usd":null,"decision_date":"2026-04-23","extraction_version":"manual-supplement-redo-2026-05","extracted_at":"2026-05-03T03:25:40+00:00","number_of_concurrent_vaccines":1,"dose_number":null,"time_to_onset_days":2,"theory_of_causation":"Pneumococcal conjugate vaccination (September 30, 2019) allegedly causing polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). VACATED/REMANDED, no compensation award yet. Petitioner Mark Radke filed September 27, 2022. Theory from rheumatologist Dr. Efthimios Efthimiou: pneumococcal conjugate vaccine as environmental immune trigger in a susceptible host, with innate immune activation and T-cell/B-cell dysregulation producing PMR; atypical PMR and imperfect inflammatory-marker correlation argued. Respondent experts Dr. Chester Oddis and Dr. Stephen Jameson disputed diagnosis, timing, literature support, and case-specific fit, citing pre-vaccination neuropathy, musculoskeletal complaints, weakness, fatigue, and rash. Chief SM Brian H. Corcoran denied entitlement October 6, 2025 under Althen prong one; Judge Zachary N. Somers vacated and remanded in opinion filed under seal April 2, 2026 and reissued April 23, 2026 for inadequate explanation/reasoned-decisionmaking. No award.","is_death":0,"date_of_death":null,"petition_filed_date":"2022-09-27","case_summary":"On September 27, 2022, Mark Radke filed a petition seeking compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, alleging that a pneumococcal conjugate vaccination administered on September 30, 2019 caused him to develop polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). The claim was litigated rather than resolved by stipulation. Respondent disputed both the medical theory and the case-specific diagnosis, arguing that the record showed longstanding neurologic, musculoskeletal, and systemic complaints before the vaccination and did not reliably connect the pneumococcal vaccine to PMR.\n\nThe medical history mattered heavily in the entitlement record. Years before the 2019 pneumococcal vaccination, Mr. Radke had a right knee injury and was considered a candidate for knee replacement; he also had lower-limb neuropathy, paresthesias, reduced reflexes, and EMG evidence described as early axonal sensorimotor neuropathy. Later records before vaccination described rash, muscle weakness, fatigue, and neuropathic symptoms that progressed to his upper extremities. Respondent relied on that history to argue that the symptoms attributed to vaccine-caused PMR either predated the vaccination or did not fit classic PMR.\n\nMr. Radke supported his claim with reports from rheumatologist Dr. Efthimios Efthimiou. Dr. Efthimiou described PMR as an immune-mediated disease that may arise in genetically or otherwise susceptible people after an environmental trigger. His proposed mechanism involved immune activation after pneumococcal conjugate vaccination, including innate immune stimulation and T-cell/B-cell dysregulation potentially related to the vaccine's conjugate components, followed by inflammatory disease. He also argued that PMR can present atypically and that inflammatory markers do not always track neatly with clinical disease.\n\nRespondent relied on Dr. Chester Oddis and Dr. Stephen Jameson. They disputed the diagnosis and the proposed causal mechanism, emphasizing that the literature did not establish a reliable pneumococcal-vaccine/PMR link, that earlier Vaccine Program PMR claims had generally failed, that the asserted onset was too close to vaccination for the theory offered, and that Mr. Radke's shoulder and systemic symptoms were complicated by substantial preexisting complaints.\n\nOn October 6, 2025, Chief Special Master Brian H. Corcoran denied entitlement, finding that Mr. Radke had not carried the first Althen prong because the proposed medical theory did not persuasively establish that the pneumococcal vaccine can cause PMR. Mr. Radke sought review in the Court of Federal Claims. Judge Zachary N. Somers filed an opinion under seal on April 2, 2026 and reissued it publicly on April 23, 2026. The court vacated the denial and remanded the case, holding that the entitlement decision did not adequately explain the reasoning for rejecting the medical theory and therefore did not satisfy the required reasoned-decisionmaking standard. As of the public remand opinion, entitlement and damages had not been finally resolved.","is_minor_inferred":0,"is_pediatric_broad":0,"special_master":"Brian H. Corcoran","petitioner_identifier_original":null,"caption_petitioner_name":"Mark Radke","petitioner_attorney_name":"Amber Diane Wilson","petitioner_attorney_firm":"Wilson Science Law","petitioner_attorney_location":"Washington, DC","adjudicator_name":null,"caption_people_backfilled_at":"2026-05-05 23:43:11","attorney_canonical_keys":"|amber-wilson|","firm_canonical_key":"wilson-science-law","package_title":"RADKE v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","canonical_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_22-vv-01384","plain_text_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_22-vv-01384.txt","json_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_22-vv-01384.json","source_documents":[{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_22-vv-01384-0","title":"RADKE v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 10/06/2025) regarding 43 DECISION of Special Master. Signed by Chief Special Master Brian H. Corcoran. (ers) Service on parties made.","date_issued":"2025-11-05","pdf_url":"https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/USCOURTS-cofc-1_22-vv-01384/granules/USCOURTS-cofc-1_22-vv-01384-0/pdf","pdf_bytes":417924,"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_22-vv-01384/USCOURTS-cofc-1_22-vv-01384-0"},{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_22-vv-01384-cl-extra-11315924","title":"Radke v. Secretary of Health and Human Services","docket_text":"Supplementary opinion from CourtListener cluster 10848548","date_issued":"2026-04-23","pdf_url":null,"pdf_bytes":null,"triage_decision":"keep","triage_reason":"CL supplement: Radke v. Secretary of Health and Human Services","download_status":"ok","registry_pdf_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/pdf/USCOURTS-cofc-1_22-vv-01384/USCOURTS-cofc-1_22-vv-01384-cl-extra-11315924"}]}