{"package_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_90-vv-02654","decision_granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_90-vv-02654-cl6649280","petitioner_identifier":"Dallas Beddingfield","is_minor":1,"age_at_vaccination":5.7,"age_unit_raw":"years","vaccine_type":"DTP","vaccination_date":"1987-09-11","condition_raw":"encephalopathy","condition_category":"encephalitis_encephalopathy","autism_spectrum_adjacent":1,"outcome":"denied","award_amount_usd":null,"decision_date":"2001-10-02","extraction_version":"gemini-v2","extracted_at":"2026-04-30T14:09:28.492062+00:00","number_of_concurrent_vaccines":1,"dose_number":5,"time_to_onset_days":0,"theory_of_causation":"Petitioner alleged that Dallas Beddingfield, born January 31, 1982, suffered an encephalopathy within 72 hours of his fifth DTP vaccination on September 11, 1987, qualifying for a Table injury. Petitioner and four witnesses testified to symptoms including high fever, vomiting, unresponsiveness, and shock-like symptoms appearing within six hours of the vaccination. However, contemporaneous medical records from September 28, October 11, and November 1987, indicated symptom onset in early October or were attributed to gastroenteritis or the flu, without mention of the vaccination or immediate severe symptoms. The Special Master, weighing conflicting evidence, gave greater credence to the contemporaneous medical records, finding the symptom onset occurred outside the 72-hour window. The Court of Federal Claims affirmed, holding that the Special Master's reliance on documentary evidence over oral testimony was not arbitrary or capricious. Dallas suffered from encephalitis, meningitis, stroke, and ataxia, but the claim was denied due to failure to prove symptom onset within the Table's 72-hour period. Petitioner's medical expert, Dr. Fisher, relied on the Petitioner's history. Attorneys for Petitioner and Respondent were involved. The Special Master's decision was dated September 6, 2000, and the Court of Federal Claims affirmed on October 2, 2001.","is_death":0,"date_of_death":null,"petition_filed_date":"1990-10-01","case_summary":"On October 1, 1990, Betty Sue Ivy Bolling Beddingfield, mother of Dallas Beddingfield, filed a claim for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Dallas, born January 31, 1982, received his fifth DTP vaccination on September 11, 1987. Petitioner alleged that Dallas suffered the first symptoms of an encephalopathy within 72 hours of this vaccination, which would qualify as a Table injury. Petitioner testified that within six hours following the vaccination, Dallas developed a temperature of 105 degrees Fahrenheit, his neck became extremely swollen, he projectile-vomited, was glassy-eyed, unresponsive, and displayed shock-like symptoms. This testimony was corroborated by Dr. Vadee Kroft, Dr. Kroft’s office assistant Nancy Piar, and Dallas’s grandparents, Mavis and Lowell Thompson. However, there were no contemporaneous medical records from Dr. Kroft to support this account. Petitioner sought medical attention from Dr. Dean D. Ettinger on September 28, 1987, 17 days after the vaccination, for a sore throat and swollen neck, but Dr. Ettinger's records did not indicate symptoms had been ongoing for weeks or began after the vaccination. Dallas visited the emergency room of Sierra Vista Community Hospital on October 11, 1987, with records stating his symptoms began \"last Wednesday\" with a swollen neck and sore throat, again without mention of the vaccination or immediate onset of severe symptoms. In November 1987, Dallas visited Dr. Kroft with a headache, fever, and vomiting; Dr. Kroft's records suggested gastroenteritis or the flu and did not reference the mid-September vaccination. Dallas was admitted to University Medical Center on November 30, 1987, with symptoms including headaches, vomiting, and ataxia. A discharge summary dated December 10, 1987, noted his \"History of the Present Illness\" began in \"early October.\" An intern's admitting note and a history form, based on information from the mother, contained similar language. Later medical records, including one from Dr. Kaplan on July 13, 1990, and a \"Psychoeducational Report\" by William Jenkins, Ph.D., dated October 2, 1991, noted a connection between Dallas's initial difficulties and his vaccination. The Special Master held a hearing and concluded that Dallas's symptoms arose outside the 72-hour period required by the Vaccine Injury Table. He gave greater credence to the contemporaneous medical records than to the oral testimony of Petitioner and other witnesses, finding that the witnesses' recollections were likely affected by the passage of time and the desire to find a cause for Dallas's illness. The Special Master found it implausible that Dallas would have been allowed to suffer at home with severe symptoms for so long over the weekend, or that Dr. Kroft would have advised him to wait until Tuesday for an appointment if the symptoms were as severe as described. Petitioner moved for review, alleging the Special Master's decision was arbitrary, an abuse of discretion, and not in accordance with the law. The Court of Federal Claims affirmed the Special Master's decision, noting that oral testimony conflicting with contemporaneous documentary evidence generally deserves little weight. The court found that the Special Master's reliance on the medical records was not arbitrary or capricious, and that he plausibly inferred that Dallas fell ill more than three days after his vaccination. Dallas suffered from encephalitis, meningitis, stroke, and ataxia throughout his childhood and adolescence, but his claim was denied because the onset of symptoms was not proven to be within the Table's 72-hour window. The Special Master was not named. Petitioner was represented by counsel, and Respondent was represented by counsel. The decision date was October 2, 2001.","is_minor_inferred":1,"is_pediatric_broad":1,"special_master":null,"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":"Beddingfield v. Secretary of Health & Human Services","canonical_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_90-vv-02654","plain_text_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_90-vv-02654.txt","json_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_90-vv-02654.json","source_documents":[{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_90-vv-02654-cl6649280","title":"Beddingfield v. Secretary of Health & Human Services","docket_text":"lead-opinion","date_issued":"2001-10-02","pdf_url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/6766500/beddingfield-v-secretary-of-health-human-services/","pdf_bytes":null,"triage_decision":"keep","triage_reason":"recovered via CL opinion 6649280 (html_with_citations)","download_status":"ok","registry_pdf_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/pdf/USCOURTS-cofc-1_90-vv-02654/USCOURTS-cofc-1_90-vv-02654-cl6649280"}]}