Steve Lehrman v. HHS - Influenza, Guillain-Barre Syndrome (2018)

Steve Lehrman filed a petition on November 13, 2013, alleging that an influenza vaccination received on October 25, 2011, caused him to develop Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Respondent opposed compensation.

An entitlement hearing was held on June 20, 2017. Petitioner was represented by Sylvia Chin-Caplan, and respondent was represented by Darryl Wishard.

Petitioner's experts were neurologists Dr. Thomas Morgan and Dr.

Norman Latov, while respondent's expert was neurologist Dr. Vinay Chaudhry.

Petitioner's medical history included an upper respiratory infection (URI) three to four weeks prior to vaccination, which he described as congestion, while respondent's expert considered it a more significant URI. There was conflicting medical opinion regarding the onset of petitioner's GBS symptoms, with some records suggesting onset before the vaccine and others indicating onset after the vaccine.

Petitioner testified that his symptoms began the morning after vaccination. Petitioner's experts, Drs.

Morgan and Latov, theorized that the flu vaccine acted synergistically with the prior URI, causing an aberrant immune response and rapid-onset atypical GBS within 24 hours of vaccination. Respondent's expert, Dr.

Chaudhry, opined that the URI was the cause of the GBS and that the onset predated the vaccine. Special Master Mindy Michaels Roth issued a ruling on entitlement on March 19, 2018, finding that the influenza vaccine was a substantial contributing factor to petitioner's GBS.

The Special Master found that petitioner's symptoms began after the vaccination and that the combination of the URI and the flu vaccine led to an upregulation of the immune system, resulting in rapid-onset GBS symptoms. The Special Master concluded that respondent failed to prove that the URI was the sole substantial factor in causing the GBS.

Following the entitlement ruling, a proffer on the award of compensation was filed on November 19, 2018. Petitioner was awarded a lump sum of $107,145.01, representing compensation for past and future pain and suffering ($100,000.00), past lost earnings ($4,251.15), and past unreimbursed expenses ($2,893.86).