Samuel J. La Bine v. HHS - Influenza, brachial neuritis / Parsonage-Turner syndrome (2025)

Samuel J. La Bine, a 19-year-old college student and competitive golfer, received an influenza vaccine on October 9, 2014.

He alleged that the vaccine caused him to develop brachial neuritis, also known as Parsonage-Turner Syndrome (PTS), in his left shoulder. While the vaccination record indicated the shot was given in his right shoulder, La Bine testified credibly that it was administered in his left arm, and subsequent medical records supported this.

Approximately six days after vaccination, La Bine experienced severe, sharp, stabbing pain in his left shoulder that radiated down his arm and up his neck, followed by numbness and weakness. His treating physicians, including neurologists, consistently considered or diagnosed brachial neuritis, noting the temporal association with the flu vaccine.

Petitioner's experts, a neurologist and an immunologist, opined that the flu vaccine could cause brachial neuritis through an autoimmune mechanism, such as molecular mimicry, and that La Bine's symptoms were consistent with this theory. Respondent's experts contested the diagnosis, arguing that the medical evidence, particularly normal EMG and MRI results, did not support brachial neuritis, and that the flu vaccine was not a known cause.

However, the Special Master found La Bine's medical records and expert testimony established a sound medical theory linking the flu vaccine to brachial neuritis, a logical sequence of cause and effect supported by treating physician opinions and the proposed mechanism, and a proximate temporal relationship of six days, consistent with the medical literature. The Special Master also found La Bine's explanation for the vaccination site discrepancy credible.

Therefore, the Special Master ruled that La Bine was entitled to compensation, with damages to be determined in a separate order.