Roy Romero v. HHS - Influenza, acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP) / Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) (2026)

On October 19, 2018, Roy Romero filed a petition alleging that an influenza vaccination administered on October 21, 2016 caused acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, clarified in an amended petition as Guillain-Barre syndrome. Mr.

Romero was 49 years old at vaccination. The case had an important procedural split.

In 2021, the Special Master found that Mr. Romero's first neurologic symptoms began about 54 to 58 hours after vaccination, which was too soon to qualify for the influenza/GBS Vaccine Table interval of three to forty-two days.

That ruling dismissed the Table claim but allowed the off-Table causation claim to proceed. Mr.

Romero's pre-vaccination history was medically active. Earlier in October 2016, he had urgent-care and hospital visits for flu-like symptoms, abdominal pain, fever, chills, diarrhea, acute pancreatitis, newly diagnosed diabetes, fatty liver, and later chest pain and cardiac evaluation.

He received the flu vaccine on October 21, 2016. On the evening of October 23 he developed hand weakness; by October 24 he was walking slowly, and by October 25 he could not walk.

At the emergency department on October 26, his weakness was progressing upward and he had difficulty writing. Neurology documented weakness and absent reflexes, lumbar puncture supported AIDP, and EMG/NCS showed an axonal and demyelinating neuropathy consistent with an axonal variant of AIDP.

He was treated with IVIG, transferred to inpatient rehabilitation, and then continued through prolonged outpatient PT and OT. He improved but continued to require assistive devices and could not return to his prior work.

Petitioner relied on neurologist Dr. Marcel Kinsbourne and immunologist Dr.

Omid Akbari. Their theory was that the flu vaccine, given while Mr.

Romero was already in a systemic inflammatory state from his recent illness and pancreatitis, substantially contributed to an immune cascade that produced GBS unusually quickly. Respondent's experts argued that the recent respiratory or gastrointestinal illness, pancreatitis, diabetes, surgery, or inflammatory condition provided a more plausible explanation and that the rapid onset was not medically acceptable for vaccine causation.

On March 25, 2026, Special Master Mindy Michaels Roth found that the vaccine was a substantial factor and but-for cause of Mr. Romero's GBS.

She accepted that his preexisting inflammatory state explained the unusually rapid 54-to-58-hour onset, found that respondent had not proved any non-vaccine factor was the sole substantial cause, and granted entitlement. The case was ordered to proceed to damages.