Marsha Dougherty v. HHS - Influenza, narcolepsy with cataplexy (2018)

Marsha Dougherty, an adult, received a Fluzone influenza vaccine on November 7, 2012. She alleged that she developed narcolepsy with cataplexy as a result of this vaccination.

Her medical history prior to vaccination included complaints of abdominal pain, migraines, anxiety, hypertension, and neck pain, stemming from a 2008 ATV accident. Following the vaccination, she reported increasing fatigue and drowsiness, leading to a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and later narcolepsy with cataplexy.

She also experienced "staring episodes" and loss of consciousness while driving. Petitioner's medical experts, primarily Dr.

Marcel Kinsbourne, proposed that the flu vaccine triggered an autoimmune reaction, possibly through molecular mimicry or nucleoprotein cross-reactivity, leading to narcolepsy. Respondent's experts, Dr.

Thomas Scammell and Dr. Andrew MacGinnitie, contested this, arguing that the evidence did not support a link between non-adjuvanted flu vaccines like Fluzone and narcolepsy.

They highlighted that studies showing a link involved adjuvanted vaccines used outside the U.S. and pointed to the retraction of key supporting research. They also questioned the Petitioner's diagnosis and the reliability of her MSLT test due to medication use.

The Special Master held an entitlement hearing and, after reviewing the expert testimony and medical literature, found that Petitioner failed to establish a reliable medical theory causally connecting the flu vaccine to her narcolepsy, thus failing the first prong of the Althen test for off-Table injuries. The court affirmed the Special Master's decision, agreeing that the evidence, including epidemiological studies like the Duffy study, did not support the Petitioner's claim, and that the Petitioner's experts' theories were not persuasive in light of the evidence presented by the respondent.

Consequently, Marsha Dougherty's petition for compensation was denied.