Jessica Jones v. HHS - Tdap, small fiber neuropathy (2018)

On October 23, 2015, Jessica Jones filed a petition under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, alleging that the Tetanus-Diphtheria-acellular-Pertussis (TDaP), Varicella, Meningococcal, and influenza vaccines she received on November 10, 2012, caused her to develop small fiber neuropathy. Petitioner was approximately 19 years old at the time of vaccination.

The respondent was the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Petitioner's expert, Dr.

Carlo Tornatore, proposed a theory of vaccine-induced autoimmune response through molecular mimicry, comparing the condition to Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Dr.

Tornatore cited case studies and argued that the vaccines could trigger an autoimmune reaction if vaccine antigens share homology with host antigens. He also contended that Petitioner's symptoms, which began approximately nine and a half weeks after vaccination, fell within a plausible timeframe for an immune response.

Respondent's expert, Dr. Thomas Leist, argued that Petitioner's symptoms predated the vaccination, citing her history of concussions, chronic headaches, syncope, irregular menses, PCOS, and thyroiditis.

Dr. Leist also contended that the temporal relationship between Petitioner's vaccination and symptom onset was outside the accepted timeframe for vaccine-induced GBS and other autoimmune neuropathies.

The Special Master, Herbrina Sanders, considered the medical records, expert reports from Dr. Tornatore and Dr.

Leist, and testimony from both experts. The Special Master found that while Dr.

Tornatore presented a biologically plausible theory for how vaccines could cause small fiber neuropathy, Petitioner failed to establish that this theory applied to her specific case. Specifically, the Special Master noted that Petitioner's symptoms developed gradually over several weeks, with onset occurring nine and a half weeks after vaccination, which was outside the generally accepted timeframe for vaccine-induced GBS and other autoimmune neuropathies.

The Special Master also found that Petitioner had a history of pre-existing conditions, including two concussions, chronic headaches, syncope, irregular menses, PCOS, and thyroiditis, which could have contributed to her symptoms and potentially predated the onset of her neuropathy. The Special Master concluded that Petitioner failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the vaccines caused her small fiber neuropathy, and therefore denied her claim for entitlement to compensation.

Judgment was entered accordingly.