Margaret Garrison v. HHS - Influenza, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) (2015)

Margaret Garrison, born August 9, 1938, filed a petition on February 19, 2013, alleging that an influenza (flu) vaccination she received on August 20, 2012 caused her to develop Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Medical records confirmed the vaccination date as August 20, 2012, rather than July 12 as originally alleged.

Petitioner had an extensive pre-vaccination neurological history, including a diagnosis of atypical Parkinson's disease in November 2011. Approximately five months after her vaccination, in January 2013, petitioner was admitted to Beth Israel Hospital with quadriplegia and respiratory failure; she was diagnosed with acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy or acute motor axonal neuropathy.

On May 5, 2014, petitioner filed a Motion for a Decision on the Record, stating she would not proffer an expert medical opinion and would not pursue a formal causation hearing. Special Master Millman dismissed the petition, finding that petitioner had failed to make a prima facie case that the flu vaccine caused her GBS.

The Special Master noted that she had not previously ruled in favor of a petitioner where GBS onset occurred more than two months after flu vaccination, and that without either expert testimony or medical record support for a causal link between flu vaccination and GBS five months later, petitioner failed to satisfy the Althen test. Special Master Millman subsequently awarded attorneys' fees and costs of $26,793.11 to petitioner and her counsel, Maglio, Christopher & Toale, PA, finding the petition had been filed on a good-faith basis.