Sue Frampton v. HHS - Influenza, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) (2017)

Sue Frampton filed a petition alleging that a few days after receiving an influenza vaccine on September 11, 2013, she developed chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). However, her treating neurologist and personal care physician diagnosed her with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease.

The court noted that CIDP typically presents with low or absent reflexes, while Ms. Frampton exhibited hyperreflexia.

Furthermore, her neurologist entertained the diagnosis of CMT after nerve conduction tests and EMG. Her treating neurologist and a neurologic consultant, Dr.

Marcel Kinsbourne, both believed she had CMT, not CIDP. The court found no medical records showing an adverse reaction to the flu vaccine and no expert report supporting her claim of CIDP.

The petition was dismissed for failure to prove a prima facie case of causation in fact, as Ms. Frampton did not have CIDP and the vaccine does not cause genetic diseases like CMT.