Robert Cleveland (“Bobby”) Turner v. HHS - DPT, seizures (2000)

Robert Lee and Sandra Kay Turner, as parents and legal representatives of their son, Robert Cleveland “Bobby” Turner, filed a petition for compensation under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Act of 1986. Bobby Turner suffered from tuberous sclerosis (TS), a genetic disease that predated his vaccination.

He received his second diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT) vaccination on November 21, 1978. The petitioners alleged that within three days of this vaccination, Bobby experienced the onset of a residual seizure disorder and that the DPT vaccine significantly aggravated his pre-existing TS condition.

Following the vaccination, Bobby developed a fever that responded to symptomatic treatment, and he exhibited crying and irritability that evening. He also fell asleep and was able to drink without difficulty.

Subsequently, he suffered significant infantile spasms, which the petitioners claimed began immediately after the vaccination. The case was part of broader litigation involving TS and vaccine injuries.

Initially, the Special Master treated Bobby's seizures as "on-Table," presuming causation by the vaccine, as they occurred within three days of the DPT shot. However, the respondent presented new evidence regarding the relationship between cortical tubers in TS patients, seizures, and developmental outcomes, suggesting that DPT vaccines do not cause seizures in TS patients.

Following consolidated expert proceedings, the Special Master issued a "TS Omnibus Decision" finding that TS is the overwhelming cause of seizures in children with the disease, unless a well-recognized vaccine reaction like fever occurs. The Special Master determined that the respondent had rebutted the presumption of aggravation by proving that TS caused Bobby's seizures and current condition.

The Special Master then required the petitioners to demonstrate that any post-vaccinal symptoms, other than seizures, were neurologically significant to overcome the respondent's evidence. Respondent's expert, Dr.

Guggenheim, opined that Bobby's infantile spasms were related to his TS because he did not have an acute encephalopathy after vaccination. Dr.

Guggenheim noted that Bobby's fever was brief and responsive to treatment, and while he was fussy and irritable, he could sleep and drink, with seizures being his only neurological abnormality. Petitioners' expert, Dr.

Marcel Kinsbourne, was found by the Special Master to have failed to interpret Bobby's specific symptoms and instead attempted to relitigate the broader issue of whether TS or DPT causes seizures. On May 30, 2000, after the Supreme Court denied certiorari in the related Hanlon case, the Special Master reissued her decision, dismissing the petition with prejudice.

Judge Edward J. Damich affirmed this denial on November 3, 2000.

The court held that requiring petitioners to show neurological significance in non-seizure symptoms did not improperly shift the Vaccine Act burden and allowed petitioners to respond to the respondent's proof that TS caused the condition. The court also found that the Special Master reasonably weighed the quality, duration, and magnitude of Bobby's symptoms and credited the respondent's expert evidence, rejecting a simple checklist approach.

No compensation was awarded.