Hendricks v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 15-850

Petitioner Jennifer Hendricks filed a Vaccine Act claim alleging SIRVA from a flu vaccine administered on October 15, 2014.
On May 19, 2016, the special master issued a decision awarding compensation to petitioner based on respondent’s proffer.
Petitioner moved for attorneys’ fees and costs on May 27, 2016, requesting $26,263.25 in fees and $579.35 in costs (total $26,842.60).
Respondent agreed the statutory requirements for fees were met but argued a reasonable award would be $12,000–$15,000 and suggested some tasks could have been billed at paralegal rates.
Petitioner submitted a reply revising hourly rates and sought an additional $2,640 for preparing the reply, reducing her prior adjustments and resulting in a revised requested total of $22,516.85 for fees plus costs, and ultimately asked to recover the original $26,842.60 plus the $2,640 reply fee.
The special master reviewed billing records, applied rates consistent with Garrison precedent, awarded the full original requested amount ($26,842.60) plus $2,640 for the reply, and ordered a lump-sum payment of $29,482.60 jointly to petitioner and counsel.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Entitlement to attorneys’ fees and costs under Vaccine Act	Hendricks sought statutory fees/costs as reasonable for work performed	Respondent did not contest entitlement but questioned reasonableness/amount	Award granted; statutory requirements satisfied
Reasonableness of requested amount	Counsel presented billing records and supported requested rates; sought additional $2,640 for reply work	Respondent argued requested amount was high based on survey and some work suited for paralegal rates; proposed $12k–$15k range	Special master found records reasonable and awarded full requested amount plus $2,640 reply fee
Appropriate hourly rates for counsel	Petitioner proposed local/rate adjustments in reply (e.g., $28/hr for 2014–15, $300/hr for 2016) but ultimately accepted rates applied by the court	Respondent implied some rate reduction and task reallocation would be appropriate	Special master applied rates consistent with Garrison: $387.50/hr (2015) and $409.00/hr (2016) and used them to calculate the award
Payment mechanics and scope of award	Petitioner asked fees/costs be paid; counsel represented no out-of-pocket petitioner expenses	Respondent noted its limited role and only addressed reasonableness	Court awarded lump-sum check jointly payable to petitioner and counsel; award covers all legal expenses and precludes further fee collection

Garrison v. Secretary of Health & Human Services, 128 Fed. Cl. 99 (2016) (special master applied and affirmed hourly rates for vaccine program counsel)
Beck v. Secretary of Health & Human Services, 924 F.2d 1029 (Fed. Cir. 1991) (fee award covers all legal expenses and prevents attorney from charging additional fees)