# In the United States Court of Federal Claims

OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS

No. 20

- 0391 V

UNPUBLISHED

CAITLIN O ’ DONOGHUE

,

Petitioner,

v.

SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,

Respondent. Chief Special Master Corcoran

Filed: May 9, 2022

Special Processing Unit (SPU) ; Rul ing on Entitlement; Concession; Table Injury; Meningococcal Vaccine; Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration (SIRVA)

Jonathan Joseph Svitak, Shannon Law Group, Woodbridge , IL , for Petitioner.

Andrew Henning , U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Respondent.

RULING ON ENTITLEMENT 1

On April 6, 2020

, Caitlin O ’ Donoghue filed a petition for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, 42 U.S.C. §300aa

- 10, et seq. 2 (the “Vaccine Act”). Petitioner alleges that she suffered a shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (“SIRVA”), a defined Table injury, after receiving two meningococcal

vaccines in her right deltoid on July 24, 2018

. 3 Petition at 1, ¶¶ 2

, 14, 1 7 . In the alternative, Petitioner alleges that her shoulder injury was caused

- in

- fact by the meningococcal

vaccine s she received. Id. at 2, 1 5

, 18

. Petitioner further alleges that she received the

1 Because this unpublished R uling contains a reasoned explanation for the action in this case, I am required to post it on the United States Court of Federal Claims' website in accordance with the E

- Government Act

of 2002. 44 U.S.C. § 3501 note (2012) (Federal Management and Promotion of Electronic Government Services). This means the R uling 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 wil l redact such material from public access.

2 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, Pub. L. No. 99

- 660, 100 Stat. 3755

. Hereinafter, for ease
of citation, all section references to the Vaccine Act will be to the pertinent subpara graph of 42 U.S.C. § 300aa (2012 ).

3 On July 24, 2018, Petitioner also received a h uman papillomavirus ( “HPV ”) vaccine in her left deltoid

. Exhibit 7 (Part 1) at 17. It appears that , belie ving this vaccine also may have been administered i n her right
deltoid, Petitioner included allegation s of a Tab le SIRV A or caused

- in

- fact injury following the receipt of the

HPV vaccine . Petition at ¶¶ 20

- 21. However, the vaccine record clearly shows the HPV vaccine was

administered in Petitioner ’ s left deltoid. Exhibit 7 (Part1) at 17.2

vaccine s in the United States, that she suffered the residual effects of her SIRVA for more than six months, and that neither she nor any other party has filed a civil case or received compensation for her SI RVA injury

. Petition at ¶¶ 2, 12, 22

. T he case was assigned to the Special Processing Unit of the Office of Special Masters.

On M ay 9, 2022

, R espondent filed his Rule 4(c) R eport in which he concedes that

P etitioner is entitled to compensation in this case. Respondent’s Rule 4(c) Report at 1. Specifically, R espondent has concluded “ that [P]etitioner has satisfied the criteria set forth in the Vaccine Injury Table ( “ Table ” ) and the Qual ifications and Aids to Interpre t ation ( “ Q AI ” ) for SIRVA

. ” Id. at 4

.

In view of R espondent’s position and the evidence of record, I find that

P etitioner is entitled to compensation.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

s/Brian H. Corcoran

Brian H. Corcoran

Chief Special Master