Phillip Bobby Camery v. HHS - DPT/DTP, seizure disorder (1998)

Phillip Bobby Camery, born August 14, 1949, was the subject of a claim filed by his mother, Coradean Camery, under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act. The claim alleged that Bobby suffered a vaccine-related death.

Bobby received his first Diphtheria-Pertussis-Tetanus (DPT) vaccination on January 28, 1950. Petitioner testified that on the evening of the vaccination, Bobby experienced "little jerking spells" and fever, and that these episodes continued until a more severe seizure on February 14, 1950.

Medical records from March 1950 onward documented recurrent seizures, and physicians diagnosed "post-pertussis immunization perivenous encephalitis" or "post-immunization encephalopathy." Bobby was later diagnosed with "mental retardation, post-pertussis immunization." He was placed in state schools and died on May 29, 1997, from acute aspiration pneumonitis secondary to chronic interstitial lung disease. The claim was pursued as a Table-method case for residual seizure disorder.

The Special Master Elizabeth Wright initially found that Bobby received the DPT vaccine on January 28, 1950, experienced jerking episodes that evening, and that these episodes constituted seizures, thus meeting the Table criteria for onset within three days. The Special Master credited petitioner's testimony over conflicting medical records.

Respondent filed a motion for review, arguing that the Special Master erred in finding that Bobby experienced jerking episodes on the evening of his vaccination and that accepting petitioner's testimony over medical records was arbitrary and capricious. The Court of Federal Claims, in an opinion by Judge Futey, reviewed the Special Master's decision.

The court found that while the Special Master had discretion to accept testimony over medical records for the timing of onset under 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-13(b)(2), the Special Master failed to adequately address inconsistencies in petitioner's testimony and affidavits, specifically noting that petitioner's earlier affidavits did not mention jerking episodes on the evening of the vaccination, contradicting her later testimony. The court also noted that the Special Master's explanation for the absence of records, based on petitioner's "obsession" with a later seizure, did not fully account for the omissions in the earlier affidavits.

Consequently, the case was remanded to the Special Master for further findings regarding these inconsistencies. Petitioner's counsel and respondent's counsel are not named in the provided text.

The Special Master initially assigned was Elizabeth Wright, and the case was later reassigned to Special Master John Edwards. The court's decision date was August 7, 1998, and the opinion was issued on December 8, 1998.

No award amount is specified as the case was remanded.