Hutton v. Secretary of Health and Human Services

In the United States Court of Federal Claims OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS Filed: January 2, 2025 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BRENDA HUTTON, * No. 18-1753V * Petitioner, * Special Master Young * v. * * SECRETARY OF HEALTH * AND HUMAN SERVICES, * * Respondent. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Ronald Craig Homer, Conway, Homer, P.C., Boston, MA, for Petitioner.

Alec Saxe, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Respondent.

DECISION 1 On November 13, 2018, Brenda Hutton, (“Petitioner”), filed a petition for compensation pursuant to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. 2 42 U.S.C. §§ 300aa-10 to -34 (2018). Petitioner alleged that the tetanus-diphtheria-acellular-pertussis (“Tdap”) vaccination that she received on March 20, 2017, caused her to sustain neuralgia related to injection. Pet. at 1, ECF No. 1.

On January 2, 2025, the parties filed a stipulation in which they state that a decision should be entered awarding compensation to Petitioner. Stipulation at ¶ 7, ECF No. 66. Respondent “denies that [P]etitioner sustained neuralgia related to injection, denies that [P]etitioner’s alleged injury was caused-in-fact by the Tdap vaccine, and denies that the Tdap vaccine caused [P]etitioner any other injury or her current condition.” Id. at ¶ 6. Nevertheless, the parties agree to the joint stipulation. See id. at ¶ 7. I find the stipulation reasonable and adopt it as the decision of the Court in awarding damages, on the terms set forth therein.

The parties stipulate that Petitioner shall receive the following compensation: Because this Decision contains a reasoned explanation for the action taken in this case, it must be made publicly accessible and will be posted on the United States Court of Federal Claims' website, and/or at https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/uscourts/national/cofc, in accordance with the E-Government Act of 2002. 44 U.S.C. § 3501 note (2018) (Federal Management and Promotion of Electronic Government Services). This means the Decision will be available to anyone with access to the internet. In accordance with Vaccine Rule 18(b), Petitioner has 14 days to identify and move to redact medical or other information, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy. If, upon review, I agree that the identified material fits within this definition, I will redact such material from public access.

National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, Pub L. No. 99-660, 100 Stat. 3755. a. A lump sum of $57,000.00 in the form of a check payable to Petitioner; b. A lump sum payment of $2,500.00, which amount represents reimbursement of a lien for services rendered on behalf of Petitioner by CareOregon, in the form of a check payable jointly to Petitioner and: ExlService.com LLC Ryan Court Suite 300 Pittsburgh, PA 15205 Petitioner agrees to endorse this check to ExlService.com LLC. Id. at ¶ 8. This amount represents compensation for all damages that would be available under 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-15(a).

I approve 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/Herbrina D.S. Young Herbrina D.S. Young Special Master

Pursuant to Vaccine Rule 11(a), entry of judgment is expedited by the parties’ joint filing of notice renouncing the right to seek review.