Rausch v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 16-438

Petitioner Marvin Rausch filed a Vaccine Act petition alleging SIRVA from an influenza vaccination on Aug 28, 2014.
The Chief Special Master previously awarded compensation based on respondent’s proffer (decision issued Aug 19, 2016).
Petitioner moved for attorneys’ fees and costs on Mar 6, 2017, seeking $16,588.10 in fees and $772.35 in costs (total $17,360.45).
Petitioner filed a signed statement that he had no out-of-pocket expenses, per General Order #9.
Respondent stated the Vaccine Act does not assign a role to respondent in fee determinations but conceded statutory requirements for an award were met and deferred to the Chief Special Master’s discretion.
The Chief Special Master reviewed billing records, found the request reasonable, and granted the full award as a lump sum check payable jointly to petitioner and counsel.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether petitioner is entitled to an award of reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs under the Vaccine Act	Rausch contends he met statutory requirements and submitted reasonable billing to support the requested fees and costs	Respondent asserts no role in resolving fee requests but agrees statutory requirements are met and defers to the Special Master’s discretion	Award granted in full: $17,360.45 as a lump sum payable jointly to petitioner and counsel
Whether the requested hours and rates are reasonable	Requesting counsel represented fees and submitted billing records supporting hours and rates	Respondent raised no specific objections to billing detail or reasonableness	Special Master reviewed records, found no cause to reduce hours or rates, and approved them

Beck v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs., 924 F.2d 1029 (Fed. Cir. 1991) (attorney fee awards under the Vaccine Act encompass all charges and bar additional collection from the client)