Ponsness v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 15-827

Petitioner filed a Vaccine Act petition alleging his January 11, 2013 influenza vaccination caused shoulder injuries (SIRVA).
On July 7, 2016, the Chief Special Master issued a decision awarding compensation based on respondent’s Proffer.
Petitioner then filed an application for attorneys’ fees and costs seeking $14,676.00 in fees and $646.40 in costs (total $15,322.40), and stated the petitioner had no out‑of‑pocket expenses.
Respondent filed a response stating she has no role in fee resolution but that statutory requirements for an award were met and suggesting a reasonable range of $12,000–$14,000 based on similar SIRVA cases.
Petitioner replied, contesting respondent’s unsupported range and providing a list of 21 prior SIRVA awards to support his requested amount.
The Chief Special Master reviewed billing records, found the request reasonable, allowed an extra $385.00 for preparing the reply (despite no detailed billing entry), and awarded a lump sum of $15,707.40 jointly payable to petitioner and counsel.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether petitioner is entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees and costs	Fees and costs are recoverable under the Vaccine Act and petitioner requests a specific amount	Respondent concedes statutory requirements are met and does not contest entitlement	Entitlement granted under 42 U.S.C. §300aa‑15(e)
Whether the requested amount is reasonable	Requested fees and costs ($15,322.40) are supported by contemporaneous billing and comparable prior awards	Suggested a reasonable range of $12,000–$14,000 based on experience and similar cases	Court found the submitted fees and costs reasonable and did not reduce requested hours or rates
Role of respondent in fee disputes	Petitioner argued respondent’s proposed range was unsubstantiated	Respondent argued she has no formal role in fee resolution but offered a reasoned range	Court treated respondent’s input as non‑binding and assessed reasonableness independently
Request for additional fees for reply work ($385.00)	Petitioner requested 1.4 hours for preparing the reply though no specific billing entry was provided	Respondent did not specifically object to this addition	Court deemed the additional amount reasonable and awarded the full $385.00

Beck v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs., 924 F.2d 1029 (Fed. Cir. 1991) (attorney fee awards in the Vaccine Program encompass all charges and prevent attorneys from collecting additional fees beyond the awarded amount)