Thompson v. United States

533 F. Supp. 581, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17501
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 28, 1981
DocketCiv. A. No. 80-F-203
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 533 F. Supp. 581 (Thompson v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thompson v. United States, 533 F. Supp. 581, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17501 (N.D. Okla. 1981).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

SHERMAN G. FINESILVER, District Judge 1:

In this suit, brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”), 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b), 2671 et seq.,2 plaintiff Alvin [582]*582Thompson seeks recovery from the United States of America for damages allegedly sustained as a result of his swine flu inoculation.

The government has stipulated that Mr. Thompson contracted Guillain-Barre Syndrome (“GBS”) sometime subsequent to his inoculation. As a result, plaintiff is not required to establish a theory of liability in order to recover against the government. He need only prove that his GBS was proximately caused by the swine flu vaccine. See Stipulation and Final Pre-Trial Order, Paragraph IX, In re Swine Flu Immunization Products Liability Litigation, 89 F.R.D. 695 (D.D.C.1979).

Plaintiff alleges that he suffered GBS as the proximate result of the swine flu vaccine. He contends that he developed symptoms of GBS approximately eight weeks after his inoculation. The government maintains that plaintiff did not develop GBS until eleven weeks following the shot, thus, there is no evidence linking his GBS and the swine flu vaccine.

For the reasons set out below, we find that Mr. Thompson did not prove by a preponderance of the evidence that his GBS was proximately caused by the swine flu vaccine.

The following reflect our findings and conclusions on the sole issue before us: whether or not there is a causal relation between plaintiff’s GBS and the swine flu vaccine.

I.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff, Alvin Thompson, is a sixty-four year old resident of Pryor, Oklahoma. He worked in the grocery business for ten years before retiring in 1969 due to a heart attack. Between 1969 and 1976 Mr. Thompson remained in relatively good health. He worked around his house and walked approximately twelve to sixteen miles daily as part of his continued rehabilitation. He testified that he considered himself an “active retiree” in 1976 and was considering going back to work.

In the fall of 1976 Mr. Thompson received a swine flu vaccination as part of the national swine flu program. The exact date of his inoculation is in dispute. Plaintiff testified that he received the shot on November 16, 1976. He based this on his belief that he received the shot on the first Tuesday following his wedding anniversary, November 13, 1976.

The government maintains that Mr. Thompson received his vaccination sometime before October 25, 1976. It relied on a “BIVALENT INFLUENZA CLINIC DATA SHEET — Registration Form” (Government Ex. B) returned to the Oklahoma Department of Health on October 25, 1976. These forms show that a vaccinee read the information sheet on the swine flu vaccine before being inoculated. A vaccinee was required to sign the registration form in order to be vaccinated. (Testimony of Dr. Mark A. Roberts, Oklahoma State Epidemiologist).

Mr. Thompson’s signature appeared on the Registration Form returned to the Oklahoma Department of Health on October 25, 1976. (Government Ex. B). He received his shot in the office of his physician, Dr. Richard A. Martin. The office notes of Dr. Martin did not reveal the exact date of the inoculation.

However, Dr. Martin testified that Mr. Thompson must have received the shot on [583]*583or before October 25, 1976. He based this on the fact that the signature of a Mr. H. M. Voss appeared on the same Registration Form, five lines below the signature of Mr. Thompson. (Government Ex. B). Further support of this date is a notation in Dr. Martin’s office notes that Mr. Voss had chills and a headache following his swine flu shot on October 25, 1976. (Testimony of Dr. Martin).

We are persuaded that the Registration Form, dated October 25, 1976, and the testimony of Dr. Martin, establish that Mr. Thompson received his swine flu shot on or before October 25, 1976.

On November 4,1976 Mr. Thompson complained to Dr. Martin of a decreased stream while urinating. On December 7, 1976 Mr. Thompson suffered an episode of gross hematuria (blood in urine). Dr. Martin referred him to Dr. Michael Smith, a urologist in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Plaintiff was admitted to St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa on December 28,1976, and underwent a cystoscopy 3. The results of this test were essentially negative.

On December 30,1976, after his discharge from the Hospital, plaintiff developed chills, a fever, and had difficulty urinating. He was admitted to Grand Valley Hospital in Pryor, Oklahoma on December 31, 1976 for tests. He was diagnosed as having a urinary tract infection and a possible sepsis secondary to the cystoscopy. (Government Ex. aa). He was treated with antibiotics and released on January 4, 1977.

Mr. Thompson awoke on January 8, 1977 with a tingling sensation and clumsiness in his lower extremities. He testified that he was “paralyzed” and thought he had suffered a stroke. Over the next two days the symptoms spread to his arms as well. He was admitted to St. Francis Hospital on January 10, 1977 with a diagnosis of possible Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

Physical and neurological examination revealed diminished deep tendon reflexes and general weakness in all four extremities. (Government Ex. z). A spinal tap upon admission showed a cerebrospinal protein of 42 mg., which is normal. A subsequent spinal tap revealed an increase in cerebrospinal protein to 132 mg. Nerve conduction velocity studies were slightly abnormal, suggesting a peripheral neuropathy. (Id.) These findings comport with the diagnostic criteria established by the National Institute of Neurological Communicable Diseases and Stroke (“NINCDS”).

Mr. Thompson was released from the hospital on January 24, 1977 with a final diagnosis of Guillain-Barre Syndrome — stable and improving. (Id.) He continues to have some residual effects, particularly weakness, from his GBS.

II.

MEDICAL TESTIMONY

At trial, we had the benefit of the following experts and their testimony: Charles M. Poser, M.D.; and John D. Hastings, M.D. In addition, we have reviewed extensive medical literature, including: Keenlyside & Schonberger et al., Fatal Guillain-Barre Syndrome After the National Influenza Immunization Program, 30 Neurology 929 (September 1980); Arnason, Inflammatory Polyradiculoneuropathies, in Diseases of the Peripheral Nervous System, chapter 56 (Dyck et al., ed.) (1976); Leneman, The Guillain-Barre Syndrome: Definition, Etiology, and Review of 1,100 Cases, 118 Archives of Internal Medicine 139 (1966); McFarland and Heller, Guillain-Barre Disease Complex: A Statement of Diagnostic Criteria and Analysis of 100 Cases, 14 Archives of Neurology 196 (1966); Samantray et al., Landry-Guillain-Barre-Strohl Syndrome: A Study of 302 Cases, 2 Medical Journal of Australia 84 (1977); Kennedy et al., Guillain-Barre Syndrome: A 42-Year Epidemiologic and Clinical Study, 53 Mayo Clinic Proceedings 93 (1978); Marshall, The Landry-Guillain-Barre Syndrome, 86 Brain 55 (1963); Dowling and Cook, Role of Infec[584]*584Lion in Guillain-Barre Syndrome: Laboratory Confirmation of Herpesviruses in 41 Cases, 9 Annals of Neurology 44 (Supp. 1981); Hayner,

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Related

Latinovich v. United States
537 F. Supp. 671 (E.D. Wisconsin, 1982)
In Re Swine Flu Immunization Products, Etc.
533 F. Supp. 581 (N.D. Oklahoma, 1981)

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Bluebook (online)
533 F. Supp. 581, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17501, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thompson-v-united-states-oknd-1981.