Vaccine Injury Compensation Program: Attorney's Fees and Costs Award

Strategic Insights -

Petitioner Will Gallaway filed a petition under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program in January 2021, alleging a shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) following an influenza vaccine he received on October 25, 2019. After a thorough analysis, Chief Special Master Corcoran found Petitioner entitled to compensation and awarded damages. Petitioner's counsel, David Carney, requested attorney's fees and costs amounting to $57,347.27, and after considering the motion and supporting evidence, the Chief Special Master reduced the award.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Vaccine Act permits an award of reasonable attorney's fees and costs for successful claimants, with the petitioner bearing the burden of establishing the hours expended, rates charged, and expenses incurred.
  • Chief Special Master Corcoran reduced the attorney's fees and costs award from $57,347.27 to $56,946.07, considering the hours spent on the case, the rates charged, and the expenses incurred.
  • The special master found 401.20 in fees to be excessive and unnecessary, reducing the award accordingly.
  • The reduced award of $56,946.07 includes $55,377.80 for fees and $1,568.27 for costs, to be paid through an ACH deposit to Petitioner's counsel's IOLTA account for prompt disbursement.
  • The decision emphasizes the importance of presenting adequate proof of attorney's fees and costs, including contemporaneous and specific billing records, to support the fee request.
  • The special master noted that "tasks that can be completed by a paralegal or a legal assistant should not be billed at an attorney's rate" and that the rate at which such work is compensated turns on the nature of the task performed, not on who ultimately performed it.

Statistics:

  • Petitioner's counsel requested an Award of $57,347.27 for attorney's fees and costs
  • The reduced award of $56,946.07 includes $55,377.80 for fees and $1,568.27 for costs
  • The special master reduced the fee award by $401.20 due to excessive and unnecessary hours incurred
  • The decision was filed on September 9, 2025, and the total hours spent on the case was approximately 89.4 (28.6 + 23.3 hours briefing on entitlement and damages and 38 hours reviewing and drafting the motion for fees)
  • The hourly rate for work performed through the end of 2024 was considered reasonable, with an average rate of $400-$425 per hour

Sources:

  • Vaccine Act, 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-10, et seq.
  • Savin v. Sec'y of Health & Hum. Servs., 85 Fed. Cl. 313, 316-18 (2008)
  • Saxton v. Sec'y of Health & Hum. Servs., 3 F.3d 1517, 1521 (Fed. Cir. 1993)
  • Doe/11 v. Sec'y of Health & Hum. Servs., No. XX-XXXXV, 2010 WL 529425, at *9 (Fed. Cl. Spec. Mstr. Jan. 29, 2010)
  • Riggins v. Sec'y of Health & Hum. Servs., No. 99-382V, 2009 WL 3319818, at *21 (Fed. Cl. Spec. Mstr. June 15, 2009)
  • National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, Pub. L. No. 99-660, 100 Stat. 3755