Elliott v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 14-661

Petitioner Patricia Elliott filed a Vaccine Act petition alleging a shoulder injury (SIRVA) from a flu vaccine received on November 7, 2013; compensation was awarded by stipulation on November 4, 2015.
Petitioner sought attorneys’ fees and costs: initial request $35,961.48; after the court directed use of rates from Stanford, petitioner filed a supplemental request for $25,476.98.
Respondent stated she plays no dispositive role in fee awards but conceded statutory requirements were met and suggested a reasonable range of $15,000–$22,000 based on comparable conceded SIRVA cases.
The Chief Special Master adopted the hourly rates for petitioner’s counsel as used in Stanford (Marvin Firestone $400/hr; Michael Firestone $260/hr) and reviewed submitted billing records.
The Special Master found the supplemental fee request reasonable, including a $165/hr rate for a paralegal with nursing credentials, and awarded the full $25,476.98 as a lump sum joint payment to petitioner and counsel.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Entitlement to attorneys’ fees and costs under the Vaccine Act	Fees and costs are recoverable following a stipulated award of compensation	Respondent: statutory requirements satisfied (no dispute on entitlement)	Entitlement granted — statutory requirements met and fees recoverable
Reasonableness of amount and hourly rates	Supplemental request using Stanford rates ($24,860 fees; $616.98 costs) is reasonable; paralegal rate $165 justified by credentials	Proposed reasonable range $15,000–$22,000 based on four comparable conceded SIRVA cases	Court adopted Stanford rates, reviewed billing, found no reductions necessary, and awarded full requested $25,476.98

Beck v. Secretary of Health & Human Services, 924 F.2d 1029 (Fed. Cir. 1991) (attorney fee award is intended to encompass all charges, advanced costs, and prevents attorneys from collecting additional fees beyond the award)