Ann Marie Ryman v. HHS - Hepatitis B, rheumatoid arthritis (2005)

Ann Marie Ryman, who was sixteen years old, filed a petition for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. She alleged that her rheumatoid arthritis was caused by her hepatitis B vaccinations.

She received her first hepatitis B vaccine on August 1, 1995, and her second on December 26, 1995. Following the second vaccination, she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis by a rheumatologist.

Chief Special Master Golkiewicz denied her claim, finding that she had not proven that the hepatitis B vaccine caused her rheumatoid arthritis. The petitioner appealed this decision to the Court of Federal Claims, raising three objections: that the legal standard used to assess causation was improper, that the Special Master failed to consider her treating physicians' opinions, and that the Special Master improperly disregarded Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) reports.

The Court of Federal Claims reviewed the Special Master's decision and found no legal error. The court affirmed the denial of compensation, concluding that the petitioner failed to establish a logical sequence of cause and effect linking the vaccine to her rheumatoid arthritis.

The court found that the Special Master acted within his discretion in weighing the evidence, including discounting the petitioner's affidavit, the treating physician's history, and the VAERS reports. The petition for review was dismissed, and judgment was entered for the respondent.

The court noted that the petitioner's case was one of five related petitions concerning whether the hepatitis B vaccine causes rheumatoid arthritis.