Keith Pillischafske v. HHS - Influenza, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) (2024)

Keith Pillischafske alleged that a flu vaccine he received on October 2, 2019, caused him to develop chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). He filed a petition for compensation with the Court of Federal Claims on December 19, 2022.

Mr. Pillischafske submitted medical records to support his claim.

The Secretary of Health and Human Services contested entitlement, arguing that Mr. Pillischafske had not provided a credible medical opinion linking the vaccine to his CIDP and that his condition might have predated the vaccination.

After a status conference, Mr. Pillischafske informed the court that a neurologist was unwilling to provide a causation opinion.

Consequently, Mr. Pillischafske moved to dismiss his own petition.

The court noted that a petitioner must provide either medical records or a physician's opinion to support a claim, and without an expert report, there was insufficient evidence of vaccine causation. Therefore, the case was dismissed with prejudice for insufficient proof.