Dean Piermattei v. HHS - Influenza, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) (2024)
Case summary [AI summaries can sometimes make mistakes]
Dean Piermattei filed a petition on April 24, 2020, seeking compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. He alleged that he suffered from Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) as a result of an influenza vaccination he received on September 26, 2018.
The respondent denied that the flu vaccine caused petitioner's alleged GBS and/or CIDP, or any other injury, and denied that his current condition was a sequela of a vaccine-related injury. Despite these denials, both parties agreed to settle the issues and award compensation.
Special Master Katherine E. Oler reviewed the file and adopted the parties' stipulation as her decision.
The stipulation awards a lump sum of $85,000.00, payable to Petitioner, as compensation for all damages. Petitioner was represented by Lawrence R.
Cohan of Saltz Mongeluzzi & Bendesky, and Respondent was represented by Katherine Esposito of the U.S. Department of Justice.
The decision was issued on February 5, 2024.
Theory of causation
Petitioner Dean Piermattei received an influenza vaccine on September 26, 2018, and alleged he suffered from Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) as a result. The respondent denied that the vaccine caused the alleged injuries or that the condition was a sequela of a vaccine-related injury. The parties entered into a joint stipulation to settle the case, agreeing that a decision should be entered awarding compensation. The stipulation does not detail the specific medical mechanism or expert testimony relied upon, but acknowledges that the alleged GBS is contained within the Vaccine Injury Table. Special Master Katherine E. Oler adopted the stipulation as her decision. The award consists of a lump sum of $85,000.00 to Petitioner for all damages. Petitioner was represented by Lawrence R. Cohan, and Respondent by Katherine Esposito. The decision was issued on February 5, 2024.
Source PDFs
USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00502