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LOPEZ

D. Me.November 12, 2025No. 2:25-cv-00456
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Case Details

Nature of Suit — the legal category of the dispute
440 Civil Rights: Other
Status — whether other courts must follow this ruling
Unknown
Procedural Posture — the stage the case had reached
motion to dismiss
State
Maine

Related Laws

No specific laws identified for this ruling.

Claim Types

Failure to Accommodate

Outcome

Petitioner's Table SIRVA claim was dismissed because the evidentiary record did not support that her pain and reduced range of motion were limited to the vaccinated shoulder. The case was transferred out of the Special Processing Unit for potential adjudication of a causation-in-fact claim.

What This Ruling Means

**What Happened** A nursing home worker in Springfield, Massachusetts filed a claim related to a shoulder injury she said was caused by a vaccination (known as SIRVA - Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration). She argued that the vaccination gave her ongoing pain and limited movement in her shoulder, and that her employer failed to provide proper accommodations for her condition. **What the Court Decided** The court dismissed the worker's SIRVA claim. The judge found that the evidence presented did not prove her pain and reduced shoulder movement were specifically limited to the shoulder where she received the vaccination. However, the case was moved to a different court unit where it might be reviewed again under different legal standards to determine if the vaccination actually caused her injury. **Why This Matters for Workers** This case shows that workers claiming vaccine-related shoulder injuries need strong medical evidence that clearly links their symptoms to the specific vaccination site. Simply having shoulder pain after vaccination isn't enough - workers must prove the injury is directly connected to where they received the shot. Workers should document their symptoms carefully and seek thorough medical evaluations if they believe a workplace-required vaccination caused an injury.

This summary was generated to explain the ruling in plain English and is not legal advice.

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This ruling information is sourced from public court records via CourtListener.com. Case outcomes, claim types, and summaries are extracted using AI analysis and may be incomplete or inaccurate. It is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

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