Carlington Keith Myers v. HHS - Influenza, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) (2024)

Carlington Keith Myers filed a petition on June 17, 2020, alleging that an influenza vaccine administered on November 23, 2016, caused him to develop Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). He also asserted a claim for significant aggravation of a condition.

The respondent, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, filed a motion to dismiss. The Special Master, Chief Special Master Brian H.

Corcoran, found that the petition was not filed within the 36-month statute of limitations. The medical records indicated that Petitioner's neurological symptoms began in May 2017, over five months after his vaccination.

This onset date was more than 36 months prior to the petition's filing date of June 17, 2020. The Special Master also noted that the onset of symptoms fell outside the generally accepted timeframe for GBS claims, even for off-Table ones, which are typically expected within six to eight weeks post-vaccination.

The earliest onset of symptoms was in May 2017, over five months after the November 2016 vaccination. Furthermore, treating physicians considered a prior upper respiratory infection as a potential cause for his GBS.

Due to the untimeliness of the petition and the lack of established causation within a plausible timeframe, the case was dismissed. The public decision does not name Petitioner's counsel or Respondent's counsel, nor does it detail specific clinical findings beyond the diagnoses and symptom progression, or describe the mechanism of GBS causation.