{"package_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00545","decision_granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00545-0","petitioner_identifier":"Eddie Dean Benenhaley","is_minor":0,"age_at_vaccination":57.0,"age_unit_raw":"years","vaccine_type":"influenza","vaccination_date":"2018-09-03","condition_raw":"Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS)","condition_category":"GBS","autism_spectrum_adjacent":0,"outcome":"dismissed","award_amount_usd":null,"decision_date":"2022-12-28","extraction_version":"gemini-v2","extracted_at":"2026-04-30T05:19:16.172342+00:00","number_of_concurrent_vaccines":1,"dose_number":null,"time_to_onset_days":109,"theory_of_causation":"Off-Table","is_death":0,"date_of_death":null,"petition_filed_date":"2020-05-01","case_summary":"Eddie Dean Benenhaley filed a petition alleging Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) caused by an influenza vaccine received on September 3, 2018. He was 57 years old at the time. The petition alleged a non-Table claim, and the respondent noted that the onset of symptoms, occurring approximately 14 weeks after vaccination, was too late for either a Table or a non-Table claim. The petitioner presented to the emergency room on December 21, 2018, with numbness and weakness in his lower extremities, which had begun the previous day. He was diagnosed with GBS and treated with IVIG. His medical history included an upper respiratory infection two weeks prior to symptom onset and a shingles vaccination in November 2018. The court noted that the petitioner's alleged onset of 108 or 109 days after vaccination was significantly outside the 3-42 day window for a Table claim and also beyond the generally accepted medically reasonable timeframe of six to eight weeks for non-Table flu vaccine-GBS claims. The petitioner argued for a nexus based on his prior good health, but the court found this to be post hoc ergo propter hoc reasoning. Petitioner's attempt to support a prolonged onset with medical literature was unconvincing, as the cited study did not support his argument and noted a stronger association between GBS and influenza illness than vaccination. Furthermore, his medical providers suggested alternative causes like the shingles vaccine or the upper respiratory infection. Ultimately, the court found that the petitioner failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the flu vaccine caused his GBS, particularly regarding the proximate temporal relationship required for an Off-Table claim. The case was dismissed.","is_minor_inferred":0,"is_pediatric_broad":0,"special_master":"Brian H. Corcoran","petitioner_identifier_original":null,"caption_petitioner_name":"Eddie Dean Benenhaley","petitioner_attorney_name":"Vasiliki D. Koutsogiannis","petitioner_attorney_firm":"Law Office of James Snell, Jr.","petitioner_attorney_location":"Lexington, SC","adjudicator_name":null,"caption_people_backfilled_at":"2026-05-05 23:44:29","attorney_canonical_keys":"|vasiliki-koutsogiannis|","firm_canonical_key":"law-office-of-james-snell-jr","package_title":"BENENHALEY v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","canonical_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00545","plain_text_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00545.txt","json_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00545.json","source_documents":[{"granule_id":"USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00545-0","title":"BENENHALEY v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","docket_text":"PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 11/28/2022) regarding 41 DECISION of Special Master ( Signed by Chief Special Master Brian H. Corcoran. )(mpj) Service on parties made.","date_issued":"2022-12-28","pdf_url":"https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00545/granules/USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00545-0/pdf","pdf_bytes":297554,"triage_decision":"keep","triage_reason":"docketText matches keep keyword 'decision of special master'","download_status":"ok","registry_pdf_url":"https://vicp-registry.org/pdf/USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00545/USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00545-0"}]}