Meryl Braun v. HHS - Influenza, Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) (2018)

On September 2, 2016, Meryl Braun filed a claim under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, alleging that an influenza vaccination received on September 11, 2013, caused her to develop Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). Initially, she claimed GBS onset approximately four months after the vaccination.

The respondent argued that this timeframe was too long for a vaccine-related GBS claim, as the Vaccine Injury Table presumes causation for GBS onset within 3 to 42 days after a flu vaccination. Petitioner later amended her claim, alleging that the flu vaccination caused Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), with GBS being a component of this broader autoimmune condition.

She presented expert testimony from Dr. Arthur Brawer, a rheumatologist, who opined that the vaccination induced SLE through molecular mimicry.

Dr. Brawer cited symptoms such as fatigue, headache with visual aura (fortification spectra), hemolytic anemia, a miscarriage, and joint inflammation as evidence of SLE.

He also stated that the SLE began within 24 hours of the vaccination. Respondent presented expert testimony from Dr.

Mehrdad Matloubian, also a rheumatologist, who disputed both the SLE diagnosis and the alleged causation. Dr.

Matloubian argued that the contemporaneous medical records did not support the early onset of symptoms claimed by Dr. Brawer and petitioner, that many of the claimed symptoms were non-specific or consistent with residual GBS, and that petitioner did not meet the diagnostic criteria for SLE.

He noted that the petitioner's GBS onset was documented in mid-January 2014, approximately four months after the vaccination, and that her later accounts of symptom onset diverged from the contemporaneous medical records and her original petition. The Special Master, Thomas L.

Gowen, found that petitioner failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the flu vaccination caused her GBS, given the four-month delay, which was well outside the Table's timeframe and not supported by medical literature for later onset. Furthermore, the Special Master determined that petitioner had not submitted sufficient evidence to rebut the contemporaneous medical records and establish that her GBS was part of a larger injury, SLE, that began within 24 hours of the vaccination.

The Special Master found the later accounts of symptom onset inconsistent with the medical records and the original petition, and therefore, petitioner's claim for compensation was denied and dismissed.