Angela Kay Stacy v. HHS - Influenza, movement disorder (2024)

Angela Kay Stacy filed a petition alleging that she suffered a movement disorder as a result of receiving an influenza vaccine on November 7, 2014. She reported experiencing muscle twitching and jerking sensations that began approximately thirteen days after vaccination and worsened over time.

Medical evaluations noted symptoms consistent with myoclonus, but also identified other factors and lacked a definitive diagnosis linking the condition to the vaccine. Petitioner presented expert testimony from Dr.

Lawrence Steinman, who proposed a theory of molecular mimicry, suggesting the vaccine triggered an immune response leading to the movement disorder. Respondent presented expert testimony from Dr.

Ross Kedl and Dr. Peter Donofrio, who challenged the reliability of Dr.

Steinman's theory and the evidence supporting a causal link between the flu vaccine and Ms. Stacy's condition.

The court found that Petitioner failed to preponderantly demonstrate that the flu vaccine could cause her movement disorder, specifically finding Dr. Steinman's causation theory unreliable and unpersuasive.

The court denied entitlement, dismissing the claim because Petitioner did not satisfy the first prong of the Althen test, which requires a medically acceptable theory connecting the vaccine to the injury.