The case of Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services v. Melissa Cloer in 2012 revolved around the issue of whether a claimant can seek compensation under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) if they file their petition after the statute's limitations has expired. Dr. Melissa Cloer filed for compensation years after receiving a Hepatitis B vaccine that she claimed caused her multiple sclerosis (MS). However, her claim was denied by both the U.S Court of Federal Claims and U.S Court of Appeals due to it being untimely as per NCVIA’s three-year filing deadline from onset symptoms rule. The Supreme Court unanimously reversed these decisions stating that although Cloer's petition was untimely, this did not disqualify her from seeking attorney’s fees and costs under Section 15(e) of NCVIA which allows such recovery even when a petitioner fails to establish causation between vaccination and injury.

In the dissenting opinion for Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services v. Melissa Cloer, 2012, Justice Scalia argued that the Vaccine Act’s statute of limitations should begin when a medical professional or scientific authority recognizes an injury as vaccine-related. He contended that starting the clock at symptom onset could lead to unjust results because many people may not immediately connect their symptoms with a vaccination they received months or years prior. Furthermore, he pointed out that this interpretation would unfairly penalize those who diligently sought medical advice but were misdiagnosed or told their injuries were unrelated to vaccines by doctors unaware of certain vaccine risks. The majority's decision was seen as undermining Congress' intent in creating a system designed to compensate victims quickly and easily without requiring them to prove fault.