# In the United States Court of Federal Claims

OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS

No. 13

- 943 V

Filed: May 27

, 2014

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

RAUL TORRES, JR.

, on behalf of * UNPUBLISHED

the estate of RAUL TORRES, SR., *

* Special Master Dorsey

Petitioner, *

*

v. * Petitioner’s Oral Motion to Dismiss;

* Insufficient Proof of Causation;

SECRETARY OF HEALTH * Vaccine Act Entitlement; Influenza

AND HUMAN SERVICES, * (Flu) Vaccine; Chronic

* Inflammatory Demyelinating

Respondent. * Polyneuropathy (“CIDP”); Guillain

-

* Barré Syndrome (“GBS); Death.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Michael Adly Baseluos , Baseluos Law Firm

, San Antonio, TX , for Petitioner.

Ryan Pyles , United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Respondent.

DECISION 1

On November 27, 2013

, Raul Torres, Jr., (“petitioner ”) filed a petition on behalf of the

Estate of Raul Torres, Sr., pursuant to the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, 42

U.S.C. §§ 300aa

- 1 et seq. (2006) (“Vaccine Act”). Petitioner alleged that , as a result of receiving

an i nfluenza (“ f lu”) vaccine on December 1, 2010 , Raul Torres, Sr., suffered from chronic

inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (“CIDP”), Guillian

- Barr é syndrome (“GBS”), and

death

.

During a status conference o n May 20, 2014

, petitioner ’s counsel moved orally for

dismissal of the case. Petitioner ’s counsel s tated that petitioner may r e

- file this case as a civil

suit

.

1 Because this unpublished decision contains a reasoned explanation for the action in this case, the

undersigned intends to post this decision on the United States Court of Federal Claims’ website, in

accordance with the E

- Government Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107

- 347, § 205, 116 Stat. 2899, 2913

(codified as amended at 44 U.S.C. § 3501 an d note (2006)). In accordance with Vaccine Rule 18(b), a

party has 14 days to identify and move to delete medical or other information, that satisfies the criteria in

§ 300aa

- 12(d)(4)(B). Further, consistent with the rule requirement, a motion for redact ion must include a

proposed redacted decision. If, upon review, the undersigned agrees that the identified material fits

within the requirements of that provision, such material will be deleted from public access.To receive compensation und er the Vaccine Act , petit ion er must prove either 1) that Raul

Torres, Sr. suffered a “Table Injury”

– i.e., an injury falling within the Vaccine Injury Tab le

– corresponding to his vaccination , or 2) that Mr. Torres, Sr. suffered an injury that was actually

caused by a vaccine. See §§ 300aa

- 13(a)(1)(A) and 300aa

- 11(c)(1). An examination of the

record did not uncover any evidence that Mr. Torres, Sr. suff ered a “Table Injury.” Further, the

record does not contain a medical expert’s opinion or any other pers uasive evidence indicating

that Mr. Torres, S r

. ’s injuries were caused by a vaccination

.

Under the Vaccine Act, a petitioner m ay not be awarded compe nsation based solely on

the petitioner’s claims . Rather, the petition must be supported by either medical records or by

the opinion of a competent physician. § 300aa

- 13(a)(1). In this case, petitioner has not filed any

medical records or any opinion of a competent physician.

Therefore, the only alternative remains to DENY this petition

. Thus, this case is

dism issed for insufficient proof. In the absence of a motion for review, t he Clerk shall

enter judgment accordingly.

IT I S SO ORDERED.

/s/ Nora Beth Dorsey

Nora Beth Dorsey

Special Master