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CHCC Decision Database - Detail & Summary Screen
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n 1994, Barbara Snyder filed a claim alleging a rubella vaccine caused her to suffer chronic arthralgia (joint pain) and fibromyalgia. Barbara died on April 28, 2005 before a decision was made in her case. On May 6, 2005, eight (8) days after Barbara's death, a special master issued a decision denying her claim. Conway, Homer & Chin-Caplan appealed the case on behalf of her estate. On February 9, 2006, Judge Thomas Wheeler of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims reversed the special master's decision and ruled that Barbara's estate is entitled to compensation. Judge Wheeler ruled that live expert testimony is unnecessary for a petitioner to be successful in the Program, especially if the opinions of treating doctors contained in the medical records link the vaccine to the injury. He also ruled that once a petitioner proves an injury was probably caused by a vaccine, the government, to defeat the claim, must prove something else actually caused the injury. It is not enough, he ruled, for the government to merely offer another explanation for the injury.
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