{"package_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01703","decision_granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01703-0","petitioner_identifier":"Fidencio Velasquez","is_minor":0,"age_at_vaccination":52.0,"age_unit_raw":"years","vaccine_type":"influenza","vaccination_date":"2016-11-01","condition_raw":"Guillain-Barré syndrome","condition_category":"GBS","autism_spectrum_adjacent":0,"outcome":"denied","award_amount_usd":null,"decision_date":"2024-02-27","extraction_version":"gemini-v2","extracted_at":"2026-04-30T01:10:47.098768+00:00","number_of_concurrent_vaccines":1,"dose_number":null,"time_to_onset_days":3,"theory_of_causation":"Off-Table","is_death":0,"date_of_death":null,"petition_filed_date":"2019-11-01","case_summary":"Fidencio Velasquez, a 52-year-old man, filed a claim alleging that an influenza vaccine he received on November 1, 2016, caused him to develop Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Mr. Velasquez had a history of diabetes and hypertension. He also sought treatment for gastroenteritis just days before his vaccination. Following the vaccination, he reported experiencing back pain and leg weakness on the day of the vaccination, with progressive weakness and hand issues developing over the subsequent days. He was diagnosed with GBS by his treating physician, Dr. Trevino, and later by a neurologist, Dr. Sanchez. Petitioner's expert, Dr. Simpson, opined that the flu vaccine caused Mr. Velasquez's GBS, citing a potential autoimmune cross-reaction and a timeframe consistent with the Vaccine Injury Table. Respondent's expert, Dr. Bromberg, argued against vaccine causation, highlighting the pre-vaccination gastrointestinal illness as a more likely cause of GBS, particularly the AMAN variant, and questioning the timing of symptom onset, suggesting it may have occurred too soon after vaccination to be vaccine-related. The court found that Mr. Velasquez did not meet his burden of proof. The decision focused on the third and second Althen prongs: the timeframe and the logical sequence of cause and effect. The court determined that the onset of symptoms, occurring less than three days after vaccination, was too rapid to be medically acceptable for vaccine-induced GBS, even though the claim was off-Table. Furthermore, the court found that the evidence of a pre-existing gastrointestinal infection, potentially caused by C. jejuni, presented a significant alternative explanation for the GBS, undermining the argument that the vaccine was the likely cause. Therefore, the petition for compensation was denied.","is_minor_inferred":0,"is_pediatric_broad":0,"special_master":"Brian H. Corcoran","petitioner_identifier_original":null,"caption_petitioner_name":"Fidencio Velasquez","petitioner_attorney_name":"Scot Tyler Scheuerman","petitioner_attorney_firm":"Scheuerman Law Firm PLLC","petitioner_attorney_location":"San Antonio, TX","adjudicator_name":null,"caption_people_backfilled_at":"2026-05-05 23:44:06","attorney_canonical_keys":"|scot-scheuerman|","firm_canonical_key":"scheuerman","package_title":"VELASQUEZ v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","canonical_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01703","plain_text_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01703.txt","json_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01703.json","source_documents":[{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01703-0","title":"VELASQUEZ v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 1/31/2024) regarding 62 DECISION of Special Master. Signed by Chief Special Master Brian H. Corcoran. 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Secretary of Health and Human Services","docket_text":"Supplementary opinion from CourtListener cluster 10268726","date_issued":"2024-05-15","pdf_url":null,"pdf_bytes":null,"triage_decision":"keep","triage_reason":"CL supplement: Velasquez v. Secretary of Health and Human Services","download_status":"ok","registry_pdf_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/pdf/USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01703/USCOURTS-cofc-1_19-vv-01703-cl-extra-10735316"}]}