Swaiss v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 15-0286V

George Swaiss filed a petition in 2015 under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, alleging a small-fiber Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) variant caused by a TDaP vaccine.
The case involved a full entitlement hearing, post-hearing briefing, an opinion awarding compensation for small fiber neuropathy, and complex damages negotiations.
On June 2, 2023, the parties agreed to a proffer for compensation, which the Special Master adopted as the decision.
Swaiss previously received an interim attorneys’ fees and costs award in 2019.
On December 7, 2023, Swaiss moved for final attorneys’ fees and costs totaling $112,603.64 for legal work and $8.95 in petitioner’s costs.
The government/respondent did not object to the reasonableness of the requested fees or costs.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Entitlement to attorneys’ fees/costs	Filed in good faith, supported by proffer	Statutory requirements met	Swaiss entitled to reasonable fees
Reasonableness of requested hourly rates	Proposed rates consistent with precedent	No objection	Requested rates found reasonable
Reasonableness of hours and expenses billed	Billing entries and expenses properly documented	No objection	Hours and costs awarded as requested
Appropriateness of expert/life planner costs	Documentation supports expert service charges	No objection	Full expert costs awarded

Avera v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs., 515 F.3d 1343 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (sets forum rate rule and Davis County exception for fees)
Rodriguez v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs., 632 F.3d 1381 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (clarifies forum vs. local fee rates for vaccine cases)
Hall v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs., 640 F.3d 1351 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (applies the Davis County exception for fee calculations)
Blum v. Stenson, 465 U.S. 886 (1984) (defines reasonable hourly rate standard)