Savage v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 16-769

Petitioner Joann Savage filed a petition under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program alleging shoulder injury from a September 1, 2015 influenza vaccination.
The Special Master issued a decision awarding compensation to petitioner based on the respondent’s proffer on October 11, 2016.
On October 20, 2016 petitioner filed an unopposed motion for attorneys’ fees and costs seeking $11,034.00 in fees and $735.15 in costs (total $11,769.15). Petitioner stated she had no out-of-pocket expenses.
Respondent filed a response stating she did not object to the overall amount sought but reserved disagreement on specific hourly rates, hours, or costs in other matters.
The Special Master reviewed the request for reasonableness and, given the lack of objection to the total amount, granted the award as a lump sum payable jointly to petitioner and counsel.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether petitioner is entitled to reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs under the Vaccine Act	Savage sought $11,769.15 to cover all attorneys’ fees and litigation costs incurred	Respondent did not oppose the overall amount but reserved any challenge to specific rates/hours in other contexts	Award granted in full: $11,769.15 as a lump sum payable jointly to petitioner and counsel
Whether petitioner incurred out-of-pocket expenses	Petitioner stated she incurred none	Respondent did not dispute	Court accepted petitioner’s signed statement of no out-of-pocket expenses
Whether the requested award covers all legal expenses and prevents additional charges by counsel	Petitioner requested that the award cover all fees and costs	Respondent noted lack of objection to total amount only	Court stated the award is intended to cover all legal expenses and counsel may not collect additional fees under 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-15(e)(3)
Whether the decision should be posted publicly and whether redactions are permitted	Not applicable	Not applicable	Decision to be posted per E-Government Act with 14-day opportunity for petitioner to request redactions under Vaccine Rule 18(b)

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 by counsel and bar additional collection beyond the award)