Timothy A. Thatcher v. HHS - Influenza, Guillain-Barre syndrome (2019)

Timothy Thatcher filed a petition alleging that an influenza vaccine he received on October 22, 2015, caused him to develop Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) around February 11, 2016, approximately 112 days later. Mr.

Thatcher's claim was supported only by two conclusory statements from a medical expert, Dr. Jack Schim.

The court noted that Dr. Schim's opinion relied on mistaken assumptions about the timing of the GBS onset and failed to address a conspicuous alternate cause for the GBS: an upper respiratory infection that Mr.

Thatcher experienced about 10 days before the GBS started. The court informed Mr.

Thatcher that his claim lacked sufficient proof and ordered him to supplement the expert report to address the timing and the alternate cause. Mr.

Thatcher declined to provide additional evidence or argument. Consequently, the court dismissed the petition for insufficient proof, finding that Mr.

Thatcher had not met his burden of proving a compensable vaccine injury by a preponderance of the evidence.