# In the United States Court of Federal Claims

OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS

No. 18

- 362 V

Filed: February 19, 2019

UNPUBLISHED

STEVEN FLETCHER

,

Petitioner,

v.

SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES,

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

Ronald Craig Homer, Conway, Homer, P.C., Boston, MA , for petitioner.
Claudia Barnes Gangi , U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for respondent.

RULING ON ENTITLEMENT 1

Dorsey

, Chief Special Master:

On March 8, 2018

, petitioner 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 he suffered a Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration ( “ SIRVA ” ) as a result of his November 3, 2016 influenza ( “ flu ” )

vaccination

. Petit ion at 1 . The case was assigned to the Special Processing Unit of the Office of Special Masters.

1 The undersigned intends to post this ruling on the United States Court of Federal Claims' website. This

means the ruling 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 invasio n of privacy. If, upon review, the undersigned agrees that the identified material fits within this definition, the undersigned will redact such material from public access. Because this unpublished ruling contains a reasoned explanation for the action in this case, undersigned is required to post it on the United States Court of Federal Claims' website in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).

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

- 660, 100 Stat. 3755. Hereinafter, for ease of citation, all “§” references to the Vaccine Act will be to the pertinent subpara graph of 42 U.S.C. § 300aa (2012 ).On Februa ry 15, 2019

, respondent filed his Rule 4(c) report in which he

concedes that petitioner is entitled to compensa tion in this case. Respondent’s Rule 4(c) Report at 1. Specifically, respondent indicates that he

believes that petitioner’s medical course is consistent with a shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (“SIRVA”) as defined on the Vaccine Injury Table. Specifically, petitioner had no recent history of pain, inflammation, or dysfunction of his right shoulder, pain occurred within 48 hours after receipt of an intramuscular vaccinat ion, pain was limited to the
shoulder where the vaccine was administered, and no other condition or abnormality, such as brachial neuritis, has been identified to explain petitioner’s shoulder pain. 42 C.F.R. §§ 100.3(a), (c)(10) (2017). Additionally, base d on the medical records outlined above, petitioner

suffered the residual effects of his condition for more than six months.

Id. at 4 . Respondent further agrees that “ based on the record as it now stands, petitioner has satisfied all legal prerequisites for compensation under the Act. Se e 42 U.S.C. §§ 300aa

- 11 (c)(1)(D)(I), 300aa

- 13(a)(1)(B)

. ” Id. at 5.

In view of respondent’s position and the evidence of record, the undersigned find s that petitioner is entitle d to compensation.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

s/Nora Beth Dorsey

Nora Beth Dorsey
Chief Special Master