Earl Wayne Harner v. HHS - Influenza, Guillain-Barré syndrome (2018)
Case summary [AI summaries can sometimes make mistakes]
Stacy Ragsdale, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Earl Wayne Harner, filed a petition on October 7, 2016, alleging that the influenza vaccine Mr. Harner received on September 28, 2015, caused him to suffer Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).
Petitioner further alleged that Mr. Harner's death on May 12, 2016, was a sequela of the vaccine-related injury.
The respondent denied that the vaccine caused or aggravated the injury. Nevertheless, the parties filed a joint stipulation agreeing to compensation.
The court adopted the stipulation, awarding a lump sum payment of $225,000.00 to the Estate of Earl Wayne Harner for all damages available under the program. The decision was issued on June 28, 2018.
The public decision does not describe the specific onset of symptoms, clinical course, diagnostic tests, treatments, or expert witnesses. Petitioner counsel was Thomas E.
Schwartz of Holloran Schwartz & Gaertner LLP, and respondent counsel was Meredith B. Healy of the United States Department of Justice.
Special Master Christian J. Moran issued the decision.
Theory of causation
Petitioner alleged that the influenza vaccine received on September 28, 2015, caused Earl Wayne Harner to suffer Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), and that his death on May 12, 2016, was a sequela of this vaccine-related injury. The respondent denied causation. The parties filed a joint stipulation for compensation, which Special Master Christian J. Moran adopted. The stipulation was based on the theory that the injury was covered under the Vaccine Injury Table. The award was a lump sum of $225,000.00, payable to the Estate of Earl Wayne Harner. Petitioner counsel was Thomas E. Schwartz, and respondent counsel was Meredith B. Healy. The decision was issued on June 28, 2018.
Source PDFs
USCOURTS-cofc-1_16-vv-01298