HPV Vaccination Held to Have Caused Urticaria
Waterman v. HHS, (Fed. Cl. Spec. Mstr. Feb. 5, 2016) (Hamilton-Fieldman, SM)
The Court resolved an onset issue in favor of petitioner, who did not seek treatment for her urticaria for two months. The special master found in favor of causation, holding that this was a classic case of challenge-rechallenge. Petitioner had developed a rash three weeks to a month after the first vaccine, worsening hives and welts approximately one month after the second vaccine and the third, most virulent, chronic urticaria, and the joint pain, approximately three to four weeks after the final vaccine. The court concluded that this evidence constituted such strong proof of causality that it was unnecessary to determine the mechanism of causation—it is understood to be occurring, which satisfied prong one. Prong two was satisfied by the same evidence. Prong three was also satisfied by the challenge-rechallenge evidence and the medical theory posed by petitioner’s expert.
