{"package_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_90-vv-02585","decision_granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_90-vv-02585-cl6647560","petitioner_identifier":"Phillip Bobby Camery","is_minor":1,"age_at_vaccination":0.12,"age_unit_raw":"years","vaccine_type":"DPT","vaccination_date":"1950-01-28","condition_raw":"seizure disorder","condition_category":"seizure_disorder","autism_spectrum_adjacent":0,"outcome":"entitlement_granted_pending_damages","award_amount_usd":null,"decision_date":"1998-08-07","extraction_version":"gemini-v2","extracted_at":"2026-04-30T14:09:27.369210+00:00","number_of_concurrent_vaccines":1,"dose_number":1,"time_to_onset_days":0,"theory_of_causation":"Petitioner Coradean Camery alleged that her son, Phillip Bobby Camery, born August 14, 1949, suffered a residual seizure disorder as a result of a DPT vaccination received on January 28, 1950. The claim was pursued under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act as a Table-method case, alleging onset of seizure disorder within three days of vaccination, as per the Vaccine Injury Table. Petitioner testified that Bobby experienced \"little jerking spells\" and fever on the evening of January 28, 1950, which she considered seizures. Petitioner's expert, Dr. Marcel Kinsbourne, testified that these jerking episodes had attributes in common with seizures and, based on petitioner's account, concluded they constituted seizures. Respondent's expert, Dr. Mary Anne Guggenheim, disputed this, stating petitioner's testimony did not make medical sense and that Bobby was healthy until February 14, 1950, with his later seizure being qualitatively different from startle-like jerks. 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 were seizures, crediting petitioner's testimony over conflicting medical records. However, the Court of Federal Claims, in an opinion by Judge Futey, remanded the case to the Special Master. The court found that while the Special Master could accept testimony over medical records for 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 contradictions regarding the occurrence of jerking episodes on the evening of the vaccination between earlier affidavits and later testimony. The court remanded for further findings on these inconsistencies. Special Master John Edwards was later assigned to the case. The decision date of the Special Master's initial award was August 7, 1998. The court's opinion was issued December 8, 1998. No award amount was determined as the case was remanded.","is_death":1,"date_of_death":"1997-05-29","petition_filed_date":"1990-10-01","case_summary":"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.","is_minor_inferred":1,"is_pediatric_broad":1,"special_master":"John F. Edwards","petitioner_identifier_original":null,"caption_petitioner_name":null,"petitioner_attorney_name":null,"petitioner_attorney_firm":null,"petitioner_attorney_location":null,"adjudicator_name":null,"caption_people_backfilled_at":null,"attorney_canonical_keys":null,"firm_canonical_key":null,"package_title":"Camery v. Secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services","canonical_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_90-vv-02585","plain_text_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_90-vv-02585.txt","json_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_90-vv-02585.json","source_documents":[{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_90-vv-02585-cl6647560","title":"Camery v. Secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services","docket_text":"lead-opinion","date_issued":"1998-12-08","pdf_url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/6764804/camery-v-secretary-of-the-department-of-health-human-services/","pdf_bytes":null,"triage_decision":"keep","triage_reason":"recovered via CL opinion 6647560 (html_with_citations)","download_status":"ok","registry_pdf_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/pdf/USCOURTS-cofc-1_90-vv-02585/USCOURTS-cofc-1_90-vv-02585-cl6647560"}]}