Trudee Mendonca v. HHS - Influenza, left shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) (2026)

On November 7, 2022, Trudee Mendonca, then 66, filed a petition alleging that a flu vaccine given in her left deltoid at a Walgreens in Riverside, Rhode Island on November 7, 2019 caused a left shoulder injury related to vaccine administration. The case turned on severity, not basic Table criteria.

Respondent acknowledged the remaining Table SIRVA requirements but argued that Ms. Mendonca had not shown residual effects for more than six months.

The record showed a background of chronic neck, back, right-shoulder, and joint problems, but no comparable left-shoulder problem before vaccination. By the evening of the shot, she reported excruciating pain.

She later described ten-out-of-ten pain, severe AC joint osteoarthritis on x-ray, short-lived relief from steroid injection, painful physical therapy, difficulty sleeping, cancelled travel, an MRI showing focal infraspinatus tendinopathy with inflammation, and intermittent shoulder complaints during COVID-era treatment gaps. Chief Special Master Brian H.

Corcoran found that the left shoulder pain began within 48 hours and that the record crossed the six-month severity threshold, although he noted the injury appeared mild overall and damages would likely be modest. Entitlement was granted on January 6, 2026, with damages pending.