Greek v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 15-178

Petitioner Brittany Greek filed a Vaccine Act petition on behalf of her minor child (C.T.G.) alleging bilateral sensorineural hearing loss from an MMR vaccine administered on Feb. 29, 2012.
The parties stipulated to entitlement; Special Master issued a decision awarding compensation on Dec. 21, 2016.
Petitioner moved for attorneys’ fees and costs on July 24, 2017, seeking $17,174.00 in fees and $9,137.35 in costs (total $26,311.35).
Respondent filed a response that did not challenge the specific amounts or hours, but asked the Special Master to exercise discretion in determining a reasonable award.
The Special Master found the total requested sum reasonable, granted the motion, and awarded $26,311.35 to be paid jointly to petitioner and counsel.
The Special Master expressly did not make a determination as to counsel’s hourly rate; the award was intended to cover all legal expenses and preclude additional fee collection.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the requested attorneys’ fees and costs are reasonable and should be awarded	Requested $17,174.00 (fees) and $9,137.35 (costs); supporting documentation submitted	No specific objections to amounts or hours; asked Special Master to exercise discretion to determine reasonableness	Granted in full: awarded $26,311.35 jointly payable to petitioner and counsel
Whether the Special Master must determine counsel’s hourly rate	Implicitly relied on total requested figure; did not press for a specific hourly-rate finding	No objection to total; did not press for rate determination	Special Master did not determine hourly rates; approved the total as reasonable

Beck v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs., 924 F.2d 1029 (Fed. Cir. 1991) (attorney may not charge or collect fees in addition to amount awarded under Vaccine Act)