Cathy Mullen v. HHS - Influenza, Parsonage-Turner syndrome (2018)

Cathy Mullen filed a petition alleging that an influenza vaccine administered on September 25, 2014, caused her Parsonage-Turner syndrome (PTS). Her petition stated that her plexopathy began on August 1, 2014, prior to the vaccination.

Medical records indicated that her treating doctors ascribed her PTS to a viral infection, specifically Epstein-Barr virus, herpes simplex virus, or varicella, not the flu vaccine. Despite multiple extensions to file expert reports, Mullen's consulted experts informed her counsel that they could not support the claim of vaccine causation.

Consequently, the Special Master dismissed the petition for failure to make a prima facie case, as the medical records did not substantiate the vaccine as the cause of her condition. A subsequent review of the Special Master's decision denying attorneys' fees to the unsuccessful petitioner affirmed the dismissal, finding the claim was filed without a reasonable basis.