Not to be Published

DECISION1

LAURA D. MILLMAN, Special Master.

On January 4, 2017, petitioners filed a petition under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-10-34 (2012), alleging that tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis ("Tdap") and meningococcal ("Menactra") vaccinations their daughter M.R. received on June 16, 2014 caused her Guillain-Barré syndrome ("GBS"). Pet. at ¶¶ 2 and 3.

On August 3, 2017, the undersigned issued an Order after a telephonic status conference in which the undersigned and the parties discussed respondent's Rule 4(c) Report recommending against compensation. Several of M.R.'s contemporaneous medical records state the onset of her GBS began more than eight weeks after her vaccinations. The undersigned stated that in Corder v. Sec'y of HHS, No. 08-228V, 2011 WL 2469736 (Fed. Cl. Spec. Mstr. May 31, 2011), the undersigned dismissed a GBS case in which petitioner's onset was more than two months after her influenza vaccination. Petitioners' counsel in the instant action stated during the status conference that he had forwarded respondent's Rule 4(c) Report to petitioners and to an expert, Dr. Albert Cook, a neurologist, for review.

On September 1, 2017, petitioners filed a Motion for Decision Dismissing Petition, stating that they will be unable to prove they are entitled to compensation, and that to proceed any further would waste the resources of the court, respondent, and the Vaccine Program. Mot. at ¶¶ 1, 2. Petitioners state they intend to elect to file a civil action once judgment on the dismissal is entered. Id. at ¶ 5.

The undersigned GRANTS petitioners' Motion for Decision Dismissing Petition, and DISMISSES the petition.

DISCUSSION

To satisfy their burden of proving causation in fact, petitioners must prove by preponderant evidence: "(1) a medical theory causally connecting the vaccination and the injury; (2) a logical sequence of cause and effect showing that the vaccination was the reason for the injury; and (3) a showing of a proximate temporal relationship between vaccination and injury." Althen v. Sec'y of HHS, 418 F.3d 1274, 1278 (Fed. Cir. 2005). In Althen, the Federal Circuit quoted its opinion in Grant v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 956 F.2d 1144, 1148 (Fed. Cir. 1992):

418 F.3d at 1278.

Without more, "evidence showing an absence of other causes does not meet petitioner's affirmative duty to show actual or legal causation." Grant, 956 F.2d at 1149. Mere temporal association is not sufficient to prove causation in fact. Id. at 1148.

Petitioners must show not only that but for her Tdap and Menactra vaccinations, M.R. would not have had GBS, but also that Tdap and Menactra vaccines were substantial factors in causing M.R.'s GBS. Shyface v. Sec'y of HHS, 165 F.3d 1344, 1352 (Fed. Cir. 1999).

The Vaccine Act, 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-13(a)(1), prohibits the undersigned from ruling in petitioners' favor based solely on their allegations unsupported by medical records or medical opinion. M.R.'s medical records do not support causation. Petitioners have not filed an expert medical report to satisfy the requirements of proving causation in fact. Instead, petitioners move for a dismissal of their petition.

The undersigned GRANTS petitioners' motion and DISMISSES this petition for petitioners' failure to make a prima facie case of causation in fact.

CONCLUSION

The petition is DISMISSED. In the absence of a motion for review filed pursuant to RCFC Appendix B, the Clerk of Court is directed to enter judgment herewith.2

IT IS SO ORDERED.