VICP Registry Case Source Bundle
Canonical URL: https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_24-vv-00431
Package ID: USCOURTS-cofc-1_24-vv-00431
Petitioner: Leonora Briggs
Filed: 2024-03-20
Decided: 2024-06-13
Vaccine: DPT
Vaccination date: 1965-11-06
Condition: hypertension, hearing loss, Type II diabetes, and numerous cognitive disorders, including autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (“ADHD”), obsessive compulsive disorder (“OCD”), and borderline personality disorder (“BPD”)
Outcome: dismissed
Award amount USD: 

AI-assisted case summary:
Leonora Briggs, a minor at the time of vaccination, filed a petition for vaccine compensation alleging that childhood vaccinations, including DPT, received in 1965 and through 1974, caused hypertension, hearing loss, Type II diabetes, and numerous cognitive disorders including autism, ADHD, OCD, and BPD. The petition was filed on March 20, 2024. The court noted that the vaccinations occurred in 1965 and at the latest in 1974, making the claim subject to a statute of repose under 42 U.S.C. § 300aa–16(a)(1). This statute required claims based on vaccinations before October 1, 1988, to be filed within 28 months of October 1, 1988, meaning claims based on vaccinations before October 1, 1981, had to be filed before February 1, 1991. The petitioner argued for equitable tolling due to unawareness of the Vaccine Act, but the court cited precedent that ignorance of the law or the discovery rule does not justify tolling. Therefore, the court found the claim to be time-barred by the statute of repose and dismissed the petition.

Theory of causation field:
unclear

Public staged source text:

================================================================================
DOCUMENT 1: USCOURTS-cofc-1_24-vv-00431-0
Date issued/filed: 2024-11-14
Pages: 4
Docket text: PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 6/13/2024) regarding 12 DECISION DISMISSING PETITION Signed by Special Master Thomas L. Gowen. (ms) Service on parties made. (Main Document 14 replaced on 11/18/2024 to include public availability information) (sw). Petitioner served via first class mail on 11.18.2024
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Case 1:24-vv-00431-UNJ Document 14 Filed 11/14/24 Page 1 of 4
In the United States Court of Federal Claims
OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS
Filed: June 13, 2024
Reissued for Public Availability: November 18, 2024.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
LEONORA BRIGGS, *
* No. 24-431V
Petitioner, *
v. * Special Master Gowen
*
SECRETARY OF HEALTH *
AND HUMAN SERVICES, *
*
Respondent. *
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
DECISION DISMISSING PETITION1
On March 20, 2024, Leonora Briggs (“petitioner”), acting pro se, filed a Petition for
Vaccine Compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.2 Petitioner
alleges that she developed hypertension, hearing loss, Type II diabetes, and numerous cognitive
disorders, including autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (“ADHD”), obsessive
compulsive disorder (“OCD”), and borderline personality disorder (“BPD”) as a result of the
Diptheria-Pertussis-Tetanus (“DPT”) vaccine “and other childhood vaccinations” she received as
an infant on November 6, 1965. See generally Petition (ECF No. 1); See also Pet’r Ex. 5 (ECF
No. 1). For the reasons set forth below, petitioner’s claim must be dismissed.
1 In accordance with the E-Government Act of 2002, 44 U.S.C. § 3501 (2012), because this opinion contains a
reasoned explanation for the action in this case, this opinion will be posted
https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/uscourts/national/cofc. This means the opinion will be available to
anyone with access to the internet. In accordance with Vaccine Rule 18(b), Petitioner had 14 days to identify and
move to redact medical or other information, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of
privacy. This Decision was originally issued on June 13, 2024, and neither party proposed redactions. Accordingly,
this Decision is reissued in its original form for posting on the Court’s website.
2 The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program is set forth in Part 2 of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury
Act of 1986, Pub. L. No. 99-660, 100 Stat. 3755, codified as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 300aa-10 to 34 (2012)
(hereinafter “Vaccine Act” or “the Act”). Hereinafter, individual section references will be to 42 U.S.C. § 300aa of
the Act.

Case 1:24-vv-00431-UNJ Document 14 Filed 11/14/24 Page 2 of 4
I. Procedural History
Petitioner filed her Petition for Compensation on March 20, 2024, along with supporting
documentation, including her birth certificate, vaccine record, a letter from her treating
provider, limited medical records and an affidavit. Pet’r Ex. 1-5 (ECF No. 1).
An initial status conference was held on April 19, 2024. Following an email from
petitioner to the Court and opposing counsel, a second status conference was held on May 8,
2024 to allow petitioner to present additional arguments regarding her claim.
The matter is now ripe for adjudication.
II. Factual History
From the years 1965 through 1974, petitioner received multiple vaccines, including
Diphtheria-Pertussis-Tetanus, Tetanus-Diphtheria, Smallpox, Poliomeylitis, Measles, and
Rubella. See Pet’r Ex. 2.
In her supporting affidavit, petitioner notes that she suffers from physical conditions
including “lifelong high blood pressure…digestive disorders…[and] hearing loss. Pet’r Ex. 5 at ¶
3, 7, 8, 9. Moreover, her affidavit states that she suffers from the following cognitive disorders:
“neurodiversity and autism…cognitive disorders…behavioral and/or emotional disorders,
[including] difficulty with social interaction, communication, and lack of eye contact…special
senses and sensory impaired disorders, [including] repetitive speech, stuttered speech, [and]
social awkwardness…obsessive compulsive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,
borderline personality disorder…[and] anxiety.” Id. at ¶ 1-2, 4-6, 9.
Petitioner filed medical records from a new patient appointment with and otolaryngologist
(“ENT”) on July 15, 2020, which includes what appears to be petitioner’s handwritten notes. See
Pet’r Ex. 4. The primary purpose of the visit was for hearing loss, which was noted to begin five
months prior to the appointment. Id. at 1. The review of symptoms was positive for ear pain or
itching, dizziness, loss of smell, hearing loss, ringing in the ears, and snoring. Id. at 2. All other
symptoms were noted to be negative by the provider, however, petitioner highlighted several
other symptoms, apparently indicating that she did experience additional symptoms. Id. A letter
from another provider dated January 30, 2024 indicates that petitioner was diagnosed with Type
II Diabetes on July 31, 2015 and has hypertension. Pet’r Ex. 3 at 1. No records pertaining to
petitioner’s cognitive disorders were filed.
III. Legal Standard
The limitations of actions for claims filed under the Vaccine Injury Compensation Act are
set forth in 42 U.S.C. § 300aa–16. Subsection (a)(1) governs claims for vaccines administered
prior to October 1, 1988, as in petitioner’s case. That section provides that:
2

Case 1:24-vv-00431-UNJ Document 14 Filed 11/14/24 Page 3 of 4
In the case of a vaccine set forth in the Vaccine Injury Table which is administered
before October 1, 1988, if a vaccine-related injury or death occurred as a result of
the administration of such vaccine, no petition may be filed for compensation under
the Program for such injury or death after the expiration of 28 months after October
1, 1988, and no such petition may be filed if the first symptom or manifestation of
onset or of the significant aggravation of such injury occurred more than 36 months
after the date of administration of the vaccine.
§ 300aa–16(a)(1) (emphasis added). While the Federal Circuit has held that equitable
tolling applies to Vaccine Act cases in limited circumstances, it has rejected the contention that
equitable tolling should be applied where a petitioner is simply “unaware[] of a causal link
between an injury and administration of a vaccine” before the statute of limitations deadline has
passed. Cloer v Sec’y of Health & Human Servs, 654 F.3d 1322, 1340, 1354 (Fed. Cir. 2011).
Prior decisions in the Program have also held that ignorance of the Vaccine Act does not justify
equitable tolling. See, e.g., Phillips v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs., No. 16-4045V, 2017 WL
1293445, at *4 (Fed. Cl. Spec. Mstr. 2017); see also Esso Standard Oil Co. v. United States, 559
F.3d 1297, 1305 (Fed. Cir. 2009) (holding that “ignorance of the governing statute” does not
warrant application of the doctrine of equitable tolling).
The Vaccine Program was enacted to provide relief to individuals whose injuries or death
qualified them or their estate for compensation under the terms of the Program. Wiley v. United
States, 69 Fed. Cl. 733, 736 (2006). However, the financial appropriation could not possibly be
large enough to ensure that all potential retrospective victims whose injuries occurred prior to the
enactment of the Vaccine Program could be compensated. Id. Congress therefore specified a
cutoff date, after which claims for injuries from vaccinations occurring prior to the act can no
longer be brought. Any claim based upon a vaccination that occurred before the Program’s
enactment date on October 1, 1988, had to be filed within 28 months of that date. In other words,
claims based on vaccinations that occurred before October 1, 1981 must have been brought
before February 1, 1991. With this in mind, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal
Circuit ruled that § 300aa–16(a)(1) is a statute of repose. See Weddel v. Sec’y of Health & Human
Servs., 100 F.3d 929, 932 (Fed. Cir. 1996).
A statute of repose is distinguishable from a statute of limitations in that a statute of
repose runs from a determined date unrelated to the injury and does not consider the date of
injury as a factor when determining the deadline for filed claims. Wiley, 69 Fed. Cl. at 736;
Lombardo, 34 Fed. Cl. at 26. In Wiley, the Court looked to Lombardo’s analysis of the various
factors used to conclude that § 300aa–16(a)(1) of the Vaccine Act was a statute of repose. 69 Fed.
Cl. at 737. According to both courts, the most significant factor was the plain language of §
300aa–16(a)(1), which provides insight into the deadline’s classification and “suggests that
Congress sought to extend relief to those vaccinated before the Act went into effect, but also
wanted to provide the government with a definite date after which it would no longer have to
defend against any such retroactive suits.” Id. (quoting Lombardo, 34 Fed. Cl. at 27).
3

Case 1:24-vv-00431-UNJ Document 14 Filed 11/14/24 Page 4 of 4
IV. Analysis
Petitioner alleges that the vaccines she received as a child in 1965 and subsequent booster
vaccinations she received through 1974 caused her to develop hypertension, hearing loss, Type II
diabetes, and numerous cognitive disorders. See generally Petition. Unfortunately, because the
vaccinations at issue occurred in 1965, and, at the latest, in 1974, petitioner’s claim is subject to
the statute of repose found in 42 U.S.C. § 300aa–16(a)(1). Under that statute, petitioner was
required to file her claim before February 1, 1991, which has long passed.
During the status conferences in this matter, petitioner argued that the discovery rule
should apply, and that the statute of limitation should be tolled because she was unaware
of her claim under the Vaccine Act until recently. The Federal Circuit, however, has held
that there is no tolling of the statute of limitations based on the discovery rule nor on
ignorance of the law. Therefore, I have no choice but to dismiss petitioner’s claim as barred
by the statute of limitations.
V. Conclusion
Though I am sympathetic with petitioner for her claimed injuries, I am nevertheless
constrained by the law governing petitioner’s claim which is time-barred by the statute of repose
imposed by 42 U.S.C. § 300aa–16(a)(1). Therefore, petitioner’s claim is hereby DISMISSED.
The Clerk of Court shall enter judgment accordingly and mail a copy of this decision to
petitioner.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
s/ Thomas L. Gowen
Thomas L. Gowen
Special Master
4