Craig Fisher v. HHS - Influenza, brachial neuritis (2024)

Craig Fisher, a 67-year-old male, received an influenza vaccine on January 19, 2018. He alleged that he developed brachial neuritis, also known as Parsonage-Turner Syndrome, following the vaccination.

Mr. Fisher had a significant past medical history including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease, and had recently undergone surgery for a hernia just prior to receiving the vaccine.

He reported onset of severe left arm pain two days after vaccination, which he attributed to the flu shot. His primary care physician diagnosed him with left upper extremity pain, and later diabetic polyneuropathy, while a neurologist suspected carpal tunnel syndrome and cervical radiculopathy based on EMG/NCS testing.

Mr. Fisher's expert, Dr.

Peter-Brian Andersson, opined that Mr. Fisher suffered from vaccine-induced brachial neuritis, arguing that molecular mimicry could explain the causal link and that surgery was not a plausible cause.

Respondent's experts, Dr. Brian Callaghan and Dr.

Andrew MacGinnitie, disagreed. Dr.

Callaghan concluded that Mr. Fisher's symptoms did not meet the criteria for brachial neuritis and were better explained by his pre-existing conditions like diabetic neuropathy, carpal tunnel syndrome, and cervical radiculopathy.

Dr. MacGinnitie focused on causation, finding no reliable mechanism linking the flu vaccine to brachial neuritis and suggesting the prior surgery was a more likely trigger.

The Chief Special Master denied Mr. Fisher's claim, finding that he failed to establish by a preponderance of evidence that he suffered from brachial neuritis, noting the lack of contemporaneous medical support for this diagnosis and that the EMG results were more consistent with other conditions.

The Court of Federal Claims affirmed this decision on review, finding the Chief Special Master appropriately weighed the evidence and did not err in his legal conclusions.