Richard Brantley v. HHS - Influenza, small fiber neuropathy (2023)

Richard Brantley, born in 1973, received an influenza vaccine on September 25, 2015. Within approximately eight hours, he developed immediate post-vaccination symptoms including swelling at the injection site, malaise, myalgias, cold sweats, diarrhea, and nausea.

Two days later, he experienced fatigue, blacked out while driving, and was hospitalized with low blood pressure and acute renal failure, which resolved. Subsequently, he reported neurological symptoms such as numbness and weakness in his left leg and foot, which he attributed to the flu vaccine.

He was evaluated by several physicians, including neurologists, who considered diagnoses such as Guillain-Barré syndrome and small fiber neuropathy (SFN). While one neurologist, Dr.

Thummala, performed a skin biopsy that suggested reduced nerve fiber density consistent with SFN, another neurologist, Dr. Callaghan, opined that Mr.

Brantley exhibited signs of large fiber nerve injury, not SFN, citing exclusionary criteria. Dr.

Tornatore, retained by Mr. Brantley, supported the SFN diagnosis, while Dr.

Callaghan, retained by the Secretary, argued against it. The court found that the evidence did not preponderate in favor of a diagnosis of small fiber neuropathy, particularly due to the presence of exclusionary factors indicating large fiber impairment and concerns about the reliability of the skin biopsy testing.

Because Mr. Brantley failed to establish the existence of the alleged injury, his claim for compensation was denied.

The petition was filed on September 17, 2018, and the decision denying entitlement was issued on November 16, 2023.