Willa K. Lau v. HHS - Influenza, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) with left-sided facial paralysis (2024)

Willa K. Lau, a 72-year-old woman, received an influenza vaccine on October 29, 2018.

She subsequently developed left-sided facial paralysis, which she alleged was caused by Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) resulting from the vaccine. The respondent argued that her condition was not GBS and that an alternative cause, a Warthin's tumor, was responsible for her facial paralysis.

The court reviewed medical records and expert opinions. The petitioner's treating physicians diagnosed her with GBS, noting symptoms such as facial paralysis, imbalance, difficulty swallowing, and areflexia, which developed within days of the vaccination.

While the respondent's experts attributed the facial paralysis to the Warthin's tumor and questioned the GBS diagnosis due to the asynchronous nature of her facial weakness and lack of limb involvement, the court found the treating physicians' diagnoses and the progressive decline in reflexes more persuasive. The court determined that the petitioner's condition met the criteria for GBS, although it did not meet the specific Table criteria for automatic compensation.

However, the court found that the petitioner successfully established causation-in-fact under the Althen standard, presenting a sound medical theory (molecular mimicry) and a logical sequence of cause and effect with a proximate temporal relationship between the flu vaccine and the onset of GBS. The court also found that the respondent failed to prove an alternative cause.

Therefore, the court ruled that Willa K. Lau is entitled to compensation, with damages to be determined in a separate order.

Damages were later resolved by proffer. In a decision filed July 22, 2024, Special Master Dorsey awarded Ms.

Lau a lump sum of $62,722.56.