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

On November 21, 2024, Yeji Kim filed a petition seeking compensation for a left shoulder injury related to vaccine administration after an influenza vaccination in her left deltoid on December 29, 2023. The case was assigned to the Special Processing Unit.

The parties were unable to settle the claim before the court addressed a threshold SIRVA issue. Respondent argued that Ms.

Kim had not shown her shoulder pain began within 48 hours of vaccination, pointing mainly to the gap between the vaccination and her first shoulder-specific treatment several months later. The record tied Ms.

Kim's symptoms back to the vaccine visit. At an April 2, 2024 orthopedic appointment with Dr.

Gregory Galano, she reported a three-month history of left shoulder pain and explained that the day after the vaccine she had left arm tenderness and difficulty moving the arm. At an April 4, 2024 physical therapy evaluation, she again reported severe pain beginning after the flu shot and continuing without meaningful resolution.

In her declaration, she described waking the day after vaccination with an extremely tender shoulder, worsening pain, stiffness, use of ice and over-the-counter medication, and difficulty performing job duties without help from co-workers. She also explained why she delayed treatment: she had moved to the United States less than a year earlier, was uncertain about insurance, faced a language barrier, and initially expected the pain to resolve.

Chief Special Master Brian H. Corcoran found those records and testimony sufficient to satisfy the Table onset element for SIRVA.

The March 24, 2026 ruling did not award damages or finally resolve the case; it decided only that the onset requirement had been met.