Thomas Jeffrey Mickles v. HHS - Influenza, Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) (2021)
Case summary [AI summaries can sometimes make mistakes]
Thomas Jeffrey Mickles filed a petition for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program on December 31, 2019, alleging that he suffered Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) caused by the influenza vaccine he received on October 16, 2018. The respondent, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, filed a Rule 4(c) report on October 23, 2020, conceding that Mr.
Mickles's injury satisfied the criteria of the Vaccine Injury Table and the Qualifications and Aids to Interpretation, and therefore conceded his entitlement to compensation. Chief Special Master Brian H.
Corcoran issued a ruling on entitlement on November 6, 2020, finding Mr. Mickles entitled to compensation.
Subsequently, on March 1, 2021, the respondent filed a proffer on award of compensation. The respondent recommended an award of $138,620.00, consisting of $135,000.00 for actual and projected pain and suffering (reduced to net present value) and $3,620.00 for actual unreimbursable expenses.
The public decision notes that Mr. Mickles, a competent adult, agreed with the proffered award.
Chief Special Master Corcoran issued a decision on March 2, 2021, awarding Mr. Mickles a lump sum payment of $138,620.00, representing the amounts for pain and suffering and unreimbursable expenses.
The decision was made based on the proffer and the record as a whole. Petitioner was represented by Nancy Routh Meyers of Turning Point Litigation, and respondent was represented by Jennifer Leigh Reynaud of the U.S.
Department of Justice. The public decision does not describe the specific onset of symptoms, medical tests, treatments, or the mechanism of causation beyond its inclusion in the Vaccine Injury Table.