VICP Registry Case Source Bundle
Canonical URL: https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_21-vv-01511
Package ID: USCOURTS-cofc-1_21-vv-01511
Petitioner: RICHARD PATRICK DIVODI
Filed: 2021-06-24
Decided: 2024-03-25
Vaccine: influenza
Vaccination date: 2018-10-11
Condition: Guillain Barré syndrome
Outcome: dismissed
Award amount USD: 

AI-assisted case summary:
Richard Patrick Divodi filed a petition alleging Guillain Barré syndrome (GBS) as a result of an October 11, 2018 influenza vaccination. He claimed the injury was a Table injury. Respondent argued against compensation, stating that the GBS had resolved before the six-month severity requirement and that later symptoms were due to confounding conditions. Respondent also argued that the onset of GBS occurred sixty-five days after the vaccination, and that petitioner failed to show the vaccine caused the GBS, pointing to closer infections as a potential cause and noting the lack of expert opinion linking the GBS to the flu vaccine. Petitioner's counsel was unsuccessful in finding an expert to connect the symptoms with the vaccination. Subsequently, the parties filed a Joint Stipulation of Dismissal. The case was dismissed without prejudice.

Theory of causation field:
Table

Public staged source text:

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DOCUMENT 1: USCOURTS-cofc-1_21-vv-01511-0
Date issued/filed: 2024-03-25
Pages: 2
Docket text: PUBLIC ORDER/RULING (Originally filed: 2/27/2024) regarding 30 Order Concluding Proceedings. Signed by Special Master Daniel T. Horner. (ksb) Service on parties made.
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Case 1:21-vv-01511-UNJ Document 31 Filed 03/25/24 Page 1 of 2
In the United States Court of Federal Claims
OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS
No. 21-1511V
Filed: February 27, 2024
Special Master Horner
RICHARD PATRICK DIVODI,
Petitioner,
v.
SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES,
Respondent.
Martin Zurada, Venardi Zurada, LLP, Walnut Creek, CA, for petitioner.
Katherine Carr Esposito, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for respondent.
ORDER CONCLUDING PROCEEDINGS1
On June 24, 2021, petitioner filed a petition for compensation under the National
Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-10, et seq. (“Vaccine Act”).2
Petitioner alleged that he suffered Guillain Barré syndrome (“GBS”) as a result of an
October 11, 2018 influenza (“flu”) vaccination. (ECF No. 1.) On December 21, 2022,
petitioner filed a Statement of Completion. (ECF No. 18.)
On March 6, 2023, respondent filed his Rule 4 Report, recommending against
compensation. (ECF No. 20.) Respondent argued that petitioner had not satisfied the
six-month severity requirement as the medical records suggest that petitioner’s GBS
had resolved prior to the six-month mark and his later symptoms were related to his
“numerous other confounding conditions.” (Id. at 10-12.) Regarding a Table injury
claim, respondent argued that petitioner had not met the Table requirements as onset of
1 Because this document contains a reasoned explanation for the action taken in this case, it must be
made publicly accessible and will be posted on the United States Court of Federal Claims' website, and/or
at https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/uscourts/national/cofc, in accordance with the E-Government
Act of 2002. 44 U.S.C. § 3501 note (2018) (Federal Management and Promotion of Electronic
Government Services). This means the document will be available to anyone with access to the
internet. In accordance with Vaccine Rule 18(b), Petitioner has 14 days to identify and move to redact
medical or other information, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy.
If, upon review, I agree that the identified material fits within this definition, I will redact such material from
public access.
2 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, Pub. L. No. 99-660, 100 Stat. 3755. Hereinafter, for
ease of citation, all “§” references to the Vaccine Act will be to the pertinent subparagraph of 42 U.S.C. §
300aa (2012).
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Case 1:21-vv-01511-UNJ Document 31 Filed 03/25/24 Page 2 of 2
his GBS occurred approximately sixty-five days after his flu vaccination. (Id. at 13.)
Finally, respondent argued that petitioner had not shown that his GBS was caused-in-
fact by the flu vaccine, rather than infections that were “closer in time to the onset of his
alleged GBS symptoms,” and that he failed to provide an expert or treating physician
opinion linking his GBS with his flu vaccination. (Id. at 13-15.)
On January 22, 2024, petitioner filed a status report, indicating that “[a]lthough
Petitioner’s counsel has tried to find an expert to bolster Petitioner’s claims, they have
been unsuccessful in finding an expert that will connect Petitioner’s symptoms with his
receiving a trivalent influenza vaccination.” (ECF No. 28.) Following a status
conference on January 23, 2024, I issued a Non-PDF Scheduling Order, directing
petitioner to file a dispositive pleading, or status report providing an update on the status
of the case, by no later than February 26, 2024. Thereafter, petitioner filed a Joint
Stipulation of Dismissal under Vaccine Rule 21(a). (ECF No. 29.)
Accordingly, pursuant to Vaccine Rule 21(a), this case is hereby dismissed
without prejudice. The Clerk of the Court is hereby instructed that a judgment shall
not enter in the instant case pursuant to Vaccine Rule 21(a).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
s/Daniel T. Horner
Daniel T. Horner
Special Master
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