Dianne Leach v. HHS - Influenza, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) (2022)

Dianne Leach filed a petition alleging that she suffered from chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) due to an influenza vaccine she received on November 16, 2017. She filed her petition with the Court of Federal Claims on November 12, 2020.

After investigating the facts and science supporting her case, Ms. Leach concluded that she would be unable to prove entitlement to compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

Consequently, she filed a motion for a decision dismissing her petition, stating that proceeding further would be unreasonable and a waste of resources. Respondent did not object to the dismissal.

The court noted that to receive compensation, a petitioner must prove either a Table Injury or that the vaccine actually caused the injury. The record did not contain evidence of a Table Injury, nor persuasive evidence that the flu vaccine caused her alleged injuries.

The court further noted that claims must be supported by medical records or a physician's opinion, and the medical records were insufficient, with no expert opinion filed. Therefore, the case was dismissed for insufficient proof.