Anderson v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 15-1289

Petitioner Alfred Anderson filed a Vaccine Program petition alleging Guillain-Barré syndrome from a Dec. 9, 2014 influenza vaccine; a damages stipulation was adopted Nov. 29, 2016.
Petitioner moved for final attorney’s fees and costs on April 7, 2017, seeking $45,212.81 (fees $43,006.20; costs $2,206.61) and $39.93 in out-of-pocket expenses for himself.
Counsel requested hourly rates for Alison Haskins of $300 (2015), $324 (2016), and $348 (2017); paralegal rates $105–$145.
The special master had previously recognized the firm’s entitlement to McCulloch forum rate ranges and noted that the requested rates were consistent with those ranges and with prior awards to similarly situated counsel.
Respondent did not contest entitlement or the specific costs and deferred to the special master’s discretion on amounts.
The special master found the hours (178) and litigation costs reasonable, awarded the full requested amounts, and directed payment jointly to Petitioner and counsel, with the $39.93 paid separately to Petitioner.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Appropriate hourly rates	Requested forum rates consistent with McCulloch ranges and prior awards to Ms. Haskins	No objection; deferred to court’s discretion	Requested hourly rates were appropriate and awarded
Reasonableness of hours expended	178 hours requested; largely attributable to complex damages calculation and case resolution	No specific objections	All 178 hours compensated as reasonable
Reimbursement of litigation costs	$2,206.61 for medical records, postage, filing fee	No objection	Litigation costs awarded in full
Petitioner’s personal expenses	$39.93 incurred by petitioner per General Order No. 9	No objection	$39.93 awarded to petitioner separately

None — the decision cites McCulloch forum-rate guidance and several unreported/special-master Vaccine Program decisions, but no officially reported cases were cited.