Funai v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 16-807

Petitioner Sharlee Funai filed a Vaccine Program petition alleging the September 17, 2013 influenza vaccine caused adverse effects.
An amended petition was filed on August 19, 2016; the case was before Special Master Sanders.
Petitioner later moved to dismiss on April 24, 2017, conceding she could not prove entitlement after investigation.
Respondent did not object to the dismissal motion.
The record contained no evidence of a Table Injury and no expert opinion linking the vaccine to Petitioner’s alleged injury.
Under the Vaccine Act, petitioners must support claims with medical records or a competent physician’s opinion; Petitioner provided neither sufficient records nor an expert report.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Petitioner suffered a Table Injury corresponding to the flu vaccine	Funai alleged adverse effects from the flu vaccine (asserts injury falls within Program)	Respondent did not dispute dismissal; record lacked evidence of a Table Injury	No Table Injury shown; entitlement not established
Whether Petitioner proved vaccine causation for her alleged injury	Funai asserted causation but offered no supporting expert opinion	Respondent did not contest dismissal; lack of expert opinion and insufficient medical records	Insufficient proof of actual-causation; case dismissed