Autism-Vaccine Attorney Bill Tops $2 Million · 2008-12-23 08:15

Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims Office of Special Masters released a decision in the first Omnibus Autism Proceeding “test case,” Cedillo v. HHS (Case 98-916V), regarding a request for interim fees and costs submitted by attorney Ronald Homer of the Boston vaccine-injury firm, Conway, Homer & Chin-Caplan.

Cedillo v. HHS alleges that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine caused the petitioners’ child to develop autism.

The Cedillo fee and cost request totals $2,180,885.29. $19,321.28 of that amount represents costs incurred by the Cedillo family for travel and housing during the lengthy hearing held in June 2007 in Washington D.C., and for a $1,200.00 retainer paid to expert witness Dr. Marcel Kinsbourne.

Counsel for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services objected to the request for interim payments to the petitioners’ attorneys, but did not protest the request to compensate Mr. and Mrs. Cedillo for their out-of-pocket expenses. Special Master George Hastings agreed:

[T]he Cedillos have advanced considerable travel expenses to attend the trial, and have sacrificed beyond their normal means to be a “test case” in the Omnibus Autism Proceeding.

[T]o resolve the additional complex fees and costs issues will take time, and I do not wish to make the petitioners wait any longer to be reimbursed for the substantial costs that they have personally incurred.

Accordingly, I hereby award[…] a lump sum of $19,321.28, in the form of a check payable to the petitioners.

The fate of the disputed $2,161,564.01 in attorney compensation will be decided at a later date.

Comments


  1. Hate to be uncharitable, but $20k for three people to fly to Washington and stay two and a half weeks? If their airfare was $500 each, and they stayed from June 9 to 27, that’s almost $1000 a day for hotel and meals.

    But hey, it’s coming out of the VICP Fund…free money, right? Much better to use it this way than to, oh, I don’t know, put it toward vaccine safety research.

    — isles    2008-12-23 10:00    #

  2. I’m not inclined to quibble about the award of costs to the Cedillo family. IIRC, the child is multiply handicapped and requires medical equipment to survive. This sort of situation has a big impact on travel time, logistics and expenses. Also, it seems reasonable to guess that two and a half weeks’ rent on a suite or two adjoining rooms in a hotel situated within a reasonable distance of the courthouse in D.C. would be pricey; ditto for restaurant meals in that neighborhood. I just spent a week living in one hotel room with my family after the December 11 ice storm. If I had planned our little natural catastrophe in advance, and had enough money to pay for mental health preservation as well as shelter, you can bet I would have arranged for two rooms with a kitchenette.

    — Kathleen Seidel    2008-12-23 10:27    #

  3. What is the chance that the ambulance chasers will get only a fraction of what they’re asking?

    — Aghast that quackery can pay    2008-12-23 13:45    #

  4. I don’t begrudge the Cedillos at all. I think that they put up with a lot of inconvenience – and public exposure – to be a test case. They deserve everyone’s praise for their participation. This seems like a trivial amount compared to the total sums at stake here.

    I’m wondering if this is a signal about the way the case is going to be decided. A clear signal that the Special Masters are concerned that the Cedillos should not be out of pocket when the decision goes against them – as it should, based on the evidence.

    — Jennifer    2008-12-23 22:05    #

  5. “What is the chance that the ambulance chasers will get only a fraction of what they’re asking?”

    Pretty good, considering that “fraction” can mean 99%. But seriously, I’m sure that plenty of fat will be trimmed from the bills that come in. Considering that both CHCC and Shoemaker have previously (and unsuccessfully) tried to hit up the court for the cost of attending the ATLA 2003 Vaccine Litigation seminar, I’ll be interested to see how many other petitioners’ attorneys will seek reimbursement from taxpayers for that meeting, as well as for other continuing education costs.

    I also wonder whether the court will determine that the participation and testimony of certain “experts” was unreasonable if they opined as if contravening data simply don’t exist (see Barber v. HHS, where the Special Master bawled out Dr. M. Eric Gershwin for disregarding information provided by Dr. James Nachman).

    Then of course there will be all the T&E, with bar bills incorporated into many restaurant receipts. IMHO, the court should establish a maximum per diem for food and hotel costs, and limit airfare compensation to coach rates.

    — Kathleen Seidel    2008-12-24 08:45    #

  6. I do hope that if there are inappropriate billings in their charges, that the court pursues them under the false claims act.

    — Another Voice    2008-12-24 10:19    #

  7. Thanks, Kathleen, for continuing to shine the light of reasonable thought on such ridiculous goings on.

    Joe

    — Club 166    2008-12-29 18:00    #

  8. Hang on the costs are 2 million not 100 times less. How many people can afford to pay out 2 million dollars to prove vaccine harm.
    Vaccine harm is recounted 250 000 times but probably one or two will have the money to take their grievance to the courts and face bankruptcy on top of vaccine harm.
    This fight is not about truth but about power.
    Research Dr Morris and Swine not the people that push vaccines.

    — John Fryer    2008-12-31 07:15    #

  9. The court should allow GSA travel rates for the lawyers.

    — Fox2!    2009-01-08 23:44    #

  10. The Cedillos’ attorneys have been awarded $1,452,806.11 for attorneys’ fees and costs, which is significantly less than they asked for but still a pretty decent payday.

    — Anne    2009-03-17 13:44    #