United States Court of Federal Claims, 2015

Justice v. Secretary of Health and Human Services

United States Court of Federal Claims · Decided December 21, 2015 · Nora Beth Dorsey

Opinion

In the United States Court of Federal Claims

OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS No. 12-696V

Filed: November 30, 2015

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * UNPUBLISHED ALLEN HALL, Personal Representative * of the Estate of APRIL MICHELLE * JUSTICE, *

Petitioner, * Chief Special Master Dorsey

v. *

SECRETARY OF HEALTH * Joint Stipulation on Damages AND HUMAN SERVICES, * Influenza (Flu) Vaccine;

* Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating

Respondent. * Neuropathy (CIPD) *

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * James C. Wright, Butler, Vines & Babb, PLLC, Knoxville, TN, for petitioner. Michael P. Milmoe, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for respondent.

DECISION1

On October 15, 2012, Allen Hall filed a petition for compensation on behalf of his deceased daughter, April Michelle Justice (“April”), under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.2 42 U.S.C. §§ 300aa-1 to -34 (2012). Petitioner alleged that as a result of receiving the Influenza (flu) vaccine on September 4, 2010, April suffered from Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Neuropathy (“CIPD”), which eventually led to her death on May 27, 2014. Petition at 1; Petitioner’s (“Pet’r’s”) Status Report dated June 26, 2014, (ECF No. 51). On November 25, 2015, the parties filed a stipulation stating that a decision should be entered awarding compensation.

Respondent denies that the flu vaccine caused April’s CIPD or any other injury and further denies that her death on May 27, 2014, was a sequela of a vaccine-related injury. Nevertheless, the parties agree to the joint stipulation, attached hereto as Appendix A. The undersigned finds the stipulation reasonable and adopts it as the decision of the Court in awarding damages, on the terms set forth therein.

The parties stipulated that petitioner shall receive the following compensation: a. A lump sum of $380,148.94, representing reimbursement of a State of Tennessee

Medicaid lien, in the form of a check payable jointly to petitioner and: Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Tennessee BlueCare/TennCare 1 Cameron Hill Circle Chattanooga, TN 37402 Attn: Tammy Miller which petitioner shall endorse to the appropriate State agency; and b. A lump sum of $247.26, representing reimbursement of a State of Tennessee Medicaid lien, in the form of a check payable jointly to petitioner and: State of Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration Bureau of TennCare Third Party Liability Division 310 Great Circle Road, 4th Fl.

Nashville, TN 37243 Attn: Brittney Faris Which petitioner shall endorse to the appropriate State agency; and c. A lump sum of $365,000.00, in the form of a check payable to petitioner. This amount represents compensation for all items of damages that would be available under 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-15(a).

Stipulation ¶ 8.

The undersigned approves the requested amount for petitioner’s compensation. Accordingly, an award should be made consistent with the stipulation.

In the absence of a motion for review filed pursuant to RCFC Appendix B, the clerk of court SHALL ENTER JUDGMENT in accordance with the terms of the parties’ stipulation.3

IT IS SO ORDERED.

/s/ Nora Beth Dorsey Nora Beth Dorsey Chief Special Master

1 Because this decision contains a reasoned explanation for the undersigned’s action in this case, the undersigned intends to post this ruling on the website of the United States Court of Federal Claims, in accordance with the E-Government Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-347, § 205, 116 Stat. 2899, 2913 (codified as amended at 44 U.S.C. § 3501 (2012)). As provided by Vaccine Rule 18(b), each party has 14 days within which to request redaction “of any information furnished by that party: (1) that is a trade secret or commercial or financial in substance and is privileged or confidential; or (2) that includes medical files or similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy.” Vaccine Rule 18(b). 2 The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program is set forth in Part 2 of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, Pub. L. No. 99-660, 100 Stat. 3755, codified as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 300aa-1 to -34 (2012) (“the Act”). All citations in this decision to individual sections of the Act are to 42 U.S.C. §300aa. 3 Pursuant to Vaccine Rule 11(a), entry of judgment is expedited by the parties’ joint filing of notice renouncing the right to seek review.

Case-law data current through September 30, 2026. Source: CourtListener bulk data.