Kevin Radford v. HHS - Influenza, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) (2023)

Kevin Radford filed a petition on May 18, 2018, alleging that an influenza vaccine administered on September 11, 2015, significantly aggravated his pre-existing condition of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). Mr.

Radford, born in 1963, had experienced symptoms consistent with CIDP prior to the vaccination, though it was not formally diagnosed until after the vaccination. The Secretary of Health and Human Services disputed the claim, arguing that Mr.

Radford had not established a persuasive medical theory linking the flu vaccine to CIDP aggravation and that his condition had not significantly worsened post-vaccination. Special Master Christian J.

Moran presided over the case. Petitioner was represented by Laura Levenberg of Muller Brazil, and Respondent was represented by Tyler King of the United States Department of Justice.

The public decision was issued on February 22, 2023. Mr.

Radford's claim presented two independent flaws: first, he failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence a medical theory for how a flu vaccine can cause CIDP to worsen, and second, he did not persuasively show that his CIDP was meaningfully worse after the vaccination. The Special Master considered testimony from Mr.

Radford, his treating physicians, and retained neurologists Dr. Maria Chen (for petitioner) and Dr.

Brian Callaghan and Dr. Jacob Kaufman (for respondent).

The court found that Mr. Radford failed to establish a credible medical theory for vaccine-induced CIDP aggravation, citing a lack of supporting literature and ambiguous expert opinions.

Specifically, Dr. Chen's theory of molecular mimicry was not well-supported by the cited articles, and Dr.

Kaufman's testimony was considered confusing and not illuminating on the specific issue of flu vaccine-induced CIDP aggravation. Furthermore, the court determined that the evidence did not preponderantly show a significant worsening of his CIDP after the vaccination, noting mixed results in strength and sensory tests between evaluations before and after the vaccination.

Consequently, the court denied Mr. Radford's petition for compensation.