Jan Kelsey v. HHS - Influenza, mixed fiber sensory neuropathy / small fiber neuropathy (2026)

On July 13, 2020, Jan Kelsey filed a petition alleging that an influenza vaccine administered on October 2, 2017 caused a neurologic disorder. He was born in 1972 and was 45 years old at vaccination.

Earlier pleadings and expert reports discussed CIDP and other vaccines, but the operative claim became that the flu vaccine caused small fiber or mixed fiber sensory neuropathy with symptoms beginning the evening after vaccination. Before the flu shot, Mr.

Kelsey had received hepatitis B and Tdap vaccinations for graduate school and had seen psychiatrist Dr. James Tandy for sudden panic and high anxiety.

He testified that the evening after the flu shot his nerves felt as if they were on fire. The next day he received IV hydration and chelation from holistic practitioner Kevin Logan, but those early records did not document nerve complaints.

By November 2017, Dr. Logan recorded anxiety, fatigue, "vaccine injury," intermittent numbness and tingling, shooting pains in the arms and legs, and concern that symptoms could represent neural inflammation or Guillain-Barre syndrome.

In February 2018, neurologist Dr. Donald Strobel recorded headaches and tingling, normal strength, normal EMG/NCS testing, and later a skin biopsy consistent with small fiber neuropathy.

Mr. Kelsey relied principally on neurologist Dr.

Norman Latov. Dr.

Latov initially proposed molecular mimicry and bystander activation, later shifting toward a cytokine-driven theory and characterizing the neuropathy as mixed small and large fiber involvement. Respondent relied on neurologist Dr.

Pria Anand, who questioned the diagnosis and noted other possible causes, and immunologist Dr. Herman Staats, who disputed the proposed immune timing.

Special Master Christian J. Moran accepted mixed fiber sensory neuropathy as the working diagnosis but found that the flu Vaccine Injury Table did not presume causation for that condition.

On February 10, 2026, Special Master Moran denied entitlement. He found that Dr.

Latov had not supplied a reliable explanation for how vaccine-induced cytokines would injure peripheral nerves within about one day, that the one-day timing was not shown to be medically appropriate, and that treating-doctor notes did not establish a logical sequence of cause and effect. No compensation was awarded.

Mr. Kelsey was represented by David P.

Murphy.