Ronald Keaton v. HHS - Influenza, Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) / chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) (2014)

Ronald Keaton filed a petition on July 17, 2012, alleging that a seasonal influenza vaccine and a pneumonia vaccine he received on August 31, 2010, caused him to develop chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), initially diagnosed as Miller-Fisher variant acute inflammatory demyelinating poly-neuropathy (AIDP), often referred to as Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). The adult pneumococcal vaccine is not covered by the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, so the claim was limited to the alleged influenza vaccine.

The respondent challenged whether the petitioner had actually received a flu vaccine on August 31, 2010. After a hearing, interrogatories, additional medical record filings, and a ruling on the record, Special Master Thomas L.

Gowen found that the petitioner had not demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence that a flu vaccine was administered on that date. The public decision does not describe the onset of symptoms, specific clinical details of the GBS/CIDP, or any medical experts.

The case was dismissed in a published fact ruling and dismissal decision issued July 2, 2014. Subsequently, on February 8, 2015, the parties filed a stipulation for attorneys' fees and costs.

Special Master Gowen awarded $45,000.00 in attorneys' fees and costs, payable jointly to the petitioner and his counsel, Firooz T. Namei of McKinney & Namei Company, L.P.A., finding that the petition had been brought in good faith and that a reasonable basis for the claim had existed, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 300aa-15(b) and (e)(1).