Lisa Brancheau v. HHS - Influenza, transverse myelitis (2024)

Lisa Brancheau, a 54-year-old registered nurse, received an influenza vaccine on September 19, 2019. She alleged that she developed transverse myelitis (TM) as a result of this vaccination.

Her medical records indicate that she experienced neurological symptoms, including tingling and numbness in her hands and feet, beginning one day after the vaccination. These symptoms progressed, and she was eventually diagnosed with TM.

Petitioner presented medical records and expert testimony from Dr. David Simpson, who opined that the flu vaccine was more likely than not causally related to her TM, citing molecular mimicry as a potential mechanism and arguing that the one-day onset was medically acceptable.

Respondent argued against compensation, presenting expert testimony from Dr. Marcelo Matiello, who opined that the vaccine did not cause Ms.

Brancheau's TM. Dr.

Matiello contended that the one-day onset was too soon to be medically acceptable for TM caused by molecular mimicry and that large epidemiological studies have not shown a causal association between vaccines and TM. The court found that Petitioner failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the flu vaccination caused her TM.

Specifically, the court determined that the one-day onset of symptoms was not medically acceptable for TM, particularly given the proposed mechanism of molecular mimicry, and thus Petitioner failed to satisfy the third prong of the Althen test for causation. Consequently, the petition was dismissed.