Yuqing Wu v. HHS - Influenza, chronic encephalopathy (2023)

On September 3, 2021, Jian Qian, acting as legal guardian for Yuqing Wu, filed a petition alleging that Ms. Wu, who was 93 years old at the time, suffered chronic encephalopathy and a subsequent cascade of illnesses as a result of an influenza vaccination administered on September 13, 2018.

The petition also indicated that at least one other unspecified vaccine was administered at that time. The respondent was the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

The Special Master, Daniel T. Horner, dismissed the case.

The procedural history revealed that the petitioner was given two years to file complete medical records but failed to do so despite multiple court orders and warnings. Initially, the petition included only abstracts of hospital records and lacked evidence of the vaccination itself.

A history from the day after the alleged vaccination mentioned a flu shot, but this was inconsistent with other allegations. The medical records showed prior hospitalizations for various conditions, including dementia and sepsis.

A later diagnosis of encephalopathy in May 2020 was attributed to a stroke, not the vaccine. The petitioner filed a letter from Dr.

WenCheng Jen, who opined that the vaccinations "more likely than not" caused a cascade of abnormalities, including contributing to Ms. Wu's stroke and heart disease.

However, the Special Master found Dr. Jen's opinion unpersuasive due to a lack of specific medical theory, inconsistency with the medical records, and failure to establish a logical sequence of cause and effect.

The Special Master determined that the petitioner failed to prosecute the case by not providing necessary documentation and also failed to demonstrate entitlement to compensation on the merits, as the evidence did not establish a vaccine-related injury or causation. The case was dismissed on October 11, 2023.