John Thomas v. HHS - Influenza, Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) (2026)

On October 25, 2022, John Thomas filed a petition seeking compensation for Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) after an influenza vaccination administered on October 7, 2019. He alleged that his injury lasted more than six months and that no civil action or other award had compensated him for the vaccine-related injury.

Respondent conceded entitlement in a Rule 4(c) report filed November 1, 2023. The concession rested on the Vaccine Injury Table criteria for seasonal-influenza-associated GBS: onset within the three-to-forty-two-day Table window, no apparent alternative cause, receipt of the vaccine in the United States, and residual effects lasting more than six months.

Chief Special Master Brian H. Corcoran entered an entitlement ruling on January 9, 2024.

The parties could not resolve damages informally, so the case went through a Motions Day damages proceeding. The damages record reflected a hospitalization and inpatient rehabilitation for GBS, later treatment for neuropathy, gait disturbance, fatigue, and migraines, and later records noting that Mr.

Thomas had recovered from GBS without residual symptoms. On March 2, 2026, Chief Special Master Corcoran awarded $139,015.36: $135,000.00 for actual pain and suffering and $4,015.36 for unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses.