{"package_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00525","decision_granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00525-1","petitioner_identifier":"Roberto A. Tejeda","is_minor":0,"age_at_vaccination":68.0,"age_unit_raw":"years","vaccine_type":"influenza","vaccination_date":"2017-12-29","condition_raw":"Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) / chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP)","condition_category":"GBS","autism_spectrum_adjacent":0,"outcome":"dismissed","award_amount_usd":null,"decision_date":"2025-04-21","extraction_version":"gemini-v2","extracted_at":"2026-04-30T01:14:19.951933+00:00","number_of_concurrent_vaccines":1,"dose_number":null,"time_to_onset_days":null,"theory_of_causation":"Petitioner Roberto A. Tejeda, age 68, received an influenza vaccination on December 29, 2017. He alleged injury in the form of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), later diagnosed as Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP). Petitioner's experts, Drs. Souayah and Sanka, opined that the flu vaccine caused CIDP, positing a mechanism of molecular mimicry and citing studies on post-vaccination/infection CIDP. They based their opinions on an assumed early onset of neurological symptoms (fatigue, leg weakness, numbness/tingling) beginning approximately one week post-vaccination and progressing through January/February 2018. Petitioner's nephrology expert, Dr. Musio, also supported the theory that neurological symptoms preceded his pyelonephritis and sepsis. Respondent's expert, Dr. Callaghan, opined that the petitioner's symptoms prior to hospitalization were constitutional and consistent with the flu, and that the severe weakness was due to critical illness polyneuropathy/myopathy during his hospitalization for pyelonephritis and sepsis. Dr. Callaghan disputed the early onset of neurological symptoms and the causal link to the vaccine, noting that CIDP is often post-infectious and that infections are a more likely trigger. Special Master Horner found that the evidence did not preponderantly support the alleged early onset of progressive leg weakness or numbness/tingling. He determined that the onset of significant neurologic symptoms occurred during petitioner's March 2018 hospitalization, which was more than 80 days post-vaccination, failing the temporal proximity requirement for causation. The Special Master also found that petitioner's experts' opinions were not credited as they relied on an unsupported factual assumption regarding symptom onset. As CIDP is not a Table Injury and GBS onset was not met, and causation-in-fact was not established, the petition was dismissed.","is_death":0,"date_of_death":null,"petition_filed_date":"2025-03-25","case_summary":"Roberto A. Tejeda, a 68-year-old male, filed a petition on March 25, 2025, alleging that he suffered Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) following an influenza vaccination on December 29, 2017. The respondent, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, argued that the medical records indicated a diagnosis of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), which is not a Table Injury and is an exclusionary criterion for GBS. The case was assigned to Special Master Daniel T. Horner. \n\nPetitioner's medical history did not include relevant prior conditions. He received the flu vaccination on December 29, 2017. His first medical presentation was on March 19, 2018, with symptoms including cough, runny nose, and discomfort, and an infected toe. However, telephone records and pharmacy records indicated calls and prescriptions for Tamiflu, montelukast, prednisone, and levofloxacin in late January and February 2018, suggesting he was experiencing flu-like symptoms. On March 21, 2018, petitioner presented to Dr. Saloum's office with fever and low blood pressure, was given IV fluids, and was taken by ambulance to Mission Trail Baptist Hospital with presumed septic shock due to pyelonephritis. His hospitalization, from March 21 to April 12, 2018, involved diagnoses including septic shock, supraventricular tachycardia, lactic acidosis, acute renal failure, coagulopathy, and thrombocytopenia. During this period, his extremity strength rapidly declined from 4/5 to 1/5. Upon discharge, he was noted to be severely debilitated with critical illness myopathy and deconditioning. He was transferred to rehabilitation, where he was assessed with severe weakness and myopathy, remaining unable to ambulate. \n\nIn December 2018, an electrodiagnostic study revealed evidence of a generalized neuropathic process consistent with Acute Motor Sensory Axonal Neuropathy (AMSAN), noted to be a variant of Guillain-Barré syndrome. In January 2019, petitioner was hospitalized for aphasia and slurred speech, with a history of CIDP noted, and treated with IVIg and steroids. His discharge diagnosis was acute exacerbation of CIDP. Subsequent evaluations by Nurse Practitioner Valerie Armstrong and neurologist Ratna Bhavaraju-Sanka, M.D., continued to diagnose CIDP. Dr. Sanka opined that petitioner's condition was more likely than not caused by the flu vaccination, but noted the complexity due to the March 2018 hospitalization and potential critical illness neuropathy. \n\nPetitioner testified that about a week after vaccination, he experienced fatigue and muscle tiredness, progressing to leg weakness and numbness/tingling in late January. His wife, Lynn Tejeda, corroborated fatigue and lethargy starting around January 6, 2018, and noted a reduction in his physical activity. Other witnesses also described petitioner as tired and fatigued in early January. However, the Special Master found petitioner's testimony regarding the period of January-March 2018 to be of limited reliability due to memory issues and vagueness. The Special Master also found that progressive leg weakness and numbness/tingling were not preponderantly supported by the evidence, noting the lack of contemporaneous medical records and inconsistencies in testimony. The medical records from the March 2018 hospitalization and subsequent rehabilitation were found to be consistent with a rapid onset of neurologic extremity weakness occurring during that time, more indicative of critical illness myopathy/polyneuropathy. \n\nPetitioner's experts, neurologist Nizar Souayah, M.D., and nephrologist Franco Musio, M.D., opined that the flu vaccine caused CIDP, citing potential molecular mimicry and post-infectious triggers. Dr. Souayah based his opinion on the assumption of early symptom onset. Respondent's expert, neurologist Brian Callaghan, M.D., opined that petitioner's most likely diagnosis was critical illness polyneuropathy and myopathy, consistent with the treating physicians' diagnoses. Dr. Callaghan disputed the early onset of neurologic symptoms and argued that the symptoms prior to hospitalization were more consistent with constitutional weakness from the flu. He also stated that the evidence did not support a causal association between the influenza vaccination and CIDP, and that infections would be a more likely cause. \n\nSpecial Master Horner found that the petitioner's symptoms prior to his March 21, 2018 hospitalization were more consistent with constitutional symptoms of fatigue, lethargy, and generalized weakness, rather than progressive leg weakness or numbness indicative of an inflammatory neuropathy. He concluded that the onset of neurologic symptoms occurred during the hospitalization, which was more than 80 days post-vaccination, failing the temporal proximity requirement for causation under the Althen test. The Special Master also found that the opinions of petitioner's experts were not credited because they were based on a factual assumption about symptom onset that was not supported by the evidence. Consequently, the Special Master determined that Mr. Tejeda had not met his burden of proof and dismissed his petition.","is_minor_inferred":0,"is_pediatric_broad":0,"special_master":"Daniel T. Horner","petitioner_identifier_original":null,"caption_petitioner_name":null,"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":null,"attorney_canonical_keys":"|scot-scheuerman|","firm_canonical_key":"scheuerman","package_title":"TEJEDA v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","canonical_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00525","plain_text_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00525.txt","json_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00525.json","source_documents":[{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00525-0","title":"TEJEDA v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 11/30/2022) regarding 48 DECISION of Special Master - Interim Attorneys' Fees. Signed by Special Master Daniel T. Horner. 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SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 12/22/2025) regarding 71 DECISION of Special Master - Fees. Signed by Special Master Daniel T. Horner. (ksb) Service on parties made.","date_issued":"2026-01-23","pdf_url":null,"pdf_bytes":null,"triage_decision":"skip","triage_reason":"fees-only decision (attorney compensation)","download_status":"skipped"}]}