Ray A. Gordon v. HHS - Influenza, Guillain-Barré syndrome (2019)
Case summary [AI summaries can sometimes make mistakes]
Donna Gordon, as the legal representative of the estate of Ray A. Gordon, filed a petition under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program alleging that her husband, Ray Gordon, suffered from Guillain-Barré syndrome and died as a result of an influenza vaccine he allegedly received on January 19, 2015.
Mr. Gordon, born in 1956, was hospitalized for hip replacement surgery on that date.
The petition was filed on January 8, 2018. The Secretary of Health and Human Services challenged the claim, asserting that the medical records did not support that the vaccination occurred.
The Special Master treated the Secretary's Rule 4 report as a motion to dismiss. Petitioner's counsel was Sylvia Chin-Caplan, and respondent's counsel was Daniel A.
Principato. Special Master Christian J.
Moran issued the decision on September 3, 2019. The Special Master reviewed the hospital records from Mr.
Gordon's January 19, 2015 admission for hip replacement surgery. While a standing order for the flu vaccine was signed by a registered nurse, the discharge instructions for that hospital stay contained notations for two influenza vaccine orders indicating "NO OCCURRENCES CHARTED" and "Patient Refused," with "ORDER DISCONTINUED" for both.
The "Vaccines" summary section of the discharge instructions also stated that Mr. Gordon "Refused Flu Vaccine (Follow up with physician or clinic)." The medical records from subsequent hospital admissions in May and June 2015 also contained standing orders with boxes checked for "Declines flu vaccine at this time." The Special Master found that these later records did not help establish whether Mr.
Gordon received the flu vaccine in January 2015, partly due to the timing of the orders and a handwritten note indicating "Out of Season." The only testimony supporting the vaccination was an affidavit from Ms. Gordon stating that her husband received pneumonia and influenza vaccines while in the recovery room.
However, the Special Master found this testimony carried less evidentiary weight than the medical records, as Ms. Gordon did not explain the basis for her knowledge.
The Special Master concluded that the evidence did not establish that Mr. Gordon received the flu vaccination, which is a threshold requirement for a vaccine injury claim.
Consequently, the Secretary's motion to dismiss was granted, and the petition was denied. The public decision does not describe the onset of symptoms, specific clinical details of the alleged Guillain-Barré syndrome, diagnostic tests, treatments, or the mechanism of causation.
Theory of causation
Petitioner alleged that Ray A. Gordon, age 58, received an influenza vaccine on January 19, 2015, and subsequently suffered from Guillain-Barré syndrome, leading to his death. The respondent challenged the fact of vaccination. The Special Master, Christian J. Moran, reviewed hospital records from January 19, 2015, which included a standing order for the flu vaccine but also explicit notations of "Patient Refused" and "ORDER DISCONTINUED" for the influenza vaccine orders in the discharge instructions. Ms. Gordon provided an affidavit stating her husband received the vaccine, but the Special Master found this lay testimony carried less weight than the medical records. The Special Master determined that the evidence did not establish that Mr. Gordon received the flu vaccination, a threshold requirement for a claim under the Vaccine Act. Consequently, the petition was dismissed. No specific theory of causation, medical experts, or mechanism of injury were presented or discussed in the public decision, as the case was dismissed on the threshold issue of vaccination. Attorneys for petitioner were Sylvia Chin-Caplan and for respondent was Daniel A. Principato. The decision was issued on September 3, 2019.
Source PDFs
USCOURTS-cofc-1_18-vv-00040