# In the United States Court of Federal Claims

OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS

No. 12

- 506 V

Filed: October 22, 2013

Not for Publication

*************************************

LAUDZE ELIZABETH GACHETTE

, *

*

Petitioner

, *

* Damages decision b ased on

v. * s tipulation; influenza vaccine;

* transverse myelitis ; fees and

SECRETARY OF HEALTH * costs decision based on stipulation

AND HUMAN SERVICES, *

*

Respondent. *

*

*************************************

Martin J. Rubenstein

, Staten Island, NY , for petitioner.

Althea W. Davis , Washington, DC, for respondent.

MILLMAN, Special Master

DECISION AWARDING DAMAGES AND ATTORNEYS ’ FEES AND COSTS 1

On October 21 , 2013

, the parties filed the attached stipulation in which they agreed to

settle this case and described th e settlement terms. Petitioner allege s that s he suffered from

t ransverse myelitis as a result of h er receipt of inf luenza vaccine on September 30 , 2009

. Petitioner further alleges that s he suffered the residual effects of this injury for more than six

months. Respondent denies that influenza vaccine caused petitioner’s transverse myelitis

, any

other injury, or her current disabilities

. Nonetheless, the parties agreed to resolve this matter

informally.

1 Because this unpublished decision contains a reasoned explanation f or the special master ’ s action i n this

case, the special master intends to post this unpublished decision on the United States Court of Federal

Claims ’ s website, in accordance with the E

- Government Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107

- 347, 116 Stat.

2899, 2913 (Dec. 17, 2002). Vaccine Rule 18(b) states that all decisions of the special masters will be

made available to the public unless they contain trade secrets or commercial or financial information that

is privileged and confidential, or medical or similar information whose disclosure would co nstitute a

clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy. When such a decision is filed, petitioner has 14 days to identify

and move to redact such information prior to the document = s disclosure. If the special master, upon

review, agrees that the identified material fits within the banned categories listed above, the special

master shall redact such material from public access.2

The court finds the terms to be reasonable, hereby adopts the parties’ stipulation, and

awards compensation in the amount and on the terms set forth therein. Pursuant to the

stipulation, the court awards a lump sum of $ 15

, 0 00.00

. The award shall be in the form of a

check for $ 15,0 00.00 made payable to petitioner

.

The parties have also agreed on an appropriate amount for attorneys’ fees and costs in

this case

. I n accordance w ith t he General Order #9 requirement, petitioner’s counsel asserts that

petitione r incurred no costs in pursu it of her petition.

Petitioner requests $ 16,698.01 in attorneys’ fees and costs

, to which respondent does not

object. The undersigned finds this amount to be reasonable. Accordingly, the court awards

$ 16,698.01 , representing reimbursement for attorneys’ fees and costs. The award shall be in the

form of a check made payable jointly to petitioner and her attorney, Martin Rubenstein, in the

amount of $ 16,698.01

.

In the absence of a motion for review filed pursuant to RCFC Appendix B, the clerk of

the court is directed to enter judgment herewith. 2

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: October 22, 2013 / s/ Laura D. Millman

Laura D. Millman

Special Master

2 Pursuant to Vaccine Rule 11(a), entry of judgment can be expedited by each party , either separately or

jointly, filing a notice renouncing the right to seek review.