Hughes v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 16-546

Petitioner Sandra R. Hughes filed a Vaccine Act claim alleging cellulitis, hematoma, and an abscess at the injection site after receiving the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Prevnar 13) on November 21, 2014.
Petitioner alleges the injuries were vaccine-caused, occurred in the U.S., produced residual effects for more than six months, and no civil action or prior award exists.
The case was assigned to the Office of Special Masters’ Special Processing Unit (SPU).
Respondent filed a Rule 4(c) report conceding entitlement, stating the vaccine more likely than not caused the cellulitis, hematoma, and abscess, and that no alternative cause was identified.
Based on respondent’s concession and the record, the Chief Special Master found petitioner entitled to compensation and issued a ruling in petitioner’s favor.

Issue	Hughes’s Argument	HHS’s Argument	Held
Whether petitioner’s cellulitis, hematoma, and abscess were caused by the Prevnar 13 vaccination	Vaccine caused the local adverse events after 11/21/2014 vaccination	Conceded that the vaccination more likely than not caused the injuries	Entitlement granted — concession accepted and petitioner entitled to compensation
Whether legal prerequisites for compensation were met	Petitioner met statutory requirements (injury, location, residual effects, no prior recovery)	No dispute; respondent acknowledged prerequisites satisfied	Court found all legal prerequisites satisfied