Brian Witte v. HHS - Influenza, Guillain-Barre Syndrome (2017)

On July 23, 2012, Brian Witte filed a petition for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, alleging that he developed Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) as a result of receiving an influenza vaccination on October 11, 2011. The respondent, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, denied that the vaccination caused the alleged injury.

Despite the denial, the parties reached a settlement agreement and filed a joint stipulation on October 23, 2017. As part of the settlement, the respondent agreed to pay Brian Witte a lump sum of $65,000.00, intended to compensate for all damages available under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act.

Special Master Mindy Michaels Roth adopted the stipulation and awarded the compensation, ordering that judgment be entered accordingly. The petition was filed on October 24, 2017, and the decision on the stipulation was issued on November 20, 2017.

The public decision does not describe the petitioner's counsel, respondent's counsel, the specific onset of symptoms, medical tests, treatments, or expert witnesses. The specific mechanism of causation is also not described in the public decision.