Barbara Perez v. HHS - Influenza, Guillain-Barré syndrome (2016)

Barbara Perez, a 57-year-old woman, filed a petition alleging that she suffered Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) as a result of an influenza vaccine she received on October 7, 2011. She presented with symptoms of neck and back pain, fatigue, and fever on November 9, 2011, and was diagnosed with acute bronchitis.

More than four months after her vaccination, on February 22, 2012, she experienced chest pain and tingling in her legs, and was admitted to the hospital. Her neurological examination was normal at that time, but she later developed confusion, slurred speech, absent reflexes, and diminished sensation, leading to a diagnosis suggestive of GBS.

She received IVIG therapy and underwent rehabilitation. The petitioner did not file an expert report and instead moved for a decision on the record.

Respondent argued that the petitioner failed to meet the Althen prongs for causation-in-fact, specifically noting the lack of a plausible medical theory linking the vaccine to her GBS, the absence of treating physician opinions attributing the GBS to the vaccine, and a medically unacceptable temporal relationship between the vaccination and the onset of symptoms (nearly 20 weeks). The court agreed, finding that the petitioner failed to establish entitlement to compensation because she did not demonstrate a medically acceptable time frame for causation, nor did she provide a plausible medical theory or logical sequence of cause and effect.

The petition was dismissed for insufficient proof.