McDonald v. United States

555 F. Supp. 935 (1983)

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McDonald v. United States

United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
555 F. Supp. 935 (1983)

  • Written by Tammy Boggs, JD

Facts

Lucy McDonald (plaintiff) was born in May 1943. McDonald graduated high school and attended one year of college. In 1971, McDonald began working as a presser at Lee Manufacturing Company (Lee), a garment manufacturer. Lee considered her an excellent employee. In 1972, McDonald got married. In 1976, pursuant to the Swine Flu Act, the United States (defendant) implemented a program to inoculate the entire adult population against swine flu. The Swine Flu Act also created a cause of action against the United States for personal injury sustained as a result of being inoculated from the swine flu, under any theory of tort liability, following procedures provided by the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). In November 1976, at 33 years old, McDonald received the swine-flu inoculation in Pennsylvania. Subsequently, she developed Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS). McDonald sued the United States to recover compensatory damages, claiming that the swine-flu inoculation caused her to suffer GBS and related lower-extremity paraplegia and bowel and bladder dysfunction. McDonald and various experts at trial testified to McDonald’s prognosis, medical expenses, ongoing care, mental condition, emotional state, and lost and future wages. At the time of the court’s decision, McDonald was 39 years old, and she would have maintained her employment at Lee except for her illness.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Conaboy, J.)

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