Dionni de la Cruz v. HHS - Influenza, Guillain-Barré Syndrome (2018)

Dionni De La Cruz filed a petition on January 23, 2017, alleging that a trivalent influenza vaccine received on October 2, 2015, caused her Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). In the alternative, she alleged the vaccine significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition.

The medical records indicated that her GBS onset occurred more than eight weeks after the vaccination. The Special Master, Laura D.

Millman, noted that an onset of GBS more than two months after a flu vaccination is generally not considered compensable. Petitioner's counsel was Joseph A.

Vuckovich, and respondent's counsel was Darryl R. Wishard.

Petitioner subsequently filed a motion to dismiss her own petition, stating she would be unable to prove entitlement to compensation and that proceeding further would be unreasonable and a waste of resources for the court, respondent, and the Vaccine Program. The Special Master granted the motion, dismissing the case.

The decision noted that the petitioner had not filed a medical expert opinion to support her allegations and that the respondent did not contest the dismissal. The public decision does not describe the specific symptoms, medical tests, or treatments related to the alleged GBS, nor does it name any medical experts or detail a specific mechanism of causation beyond the temporal relationship.