Emilee M Lester v. HHS - HPV, abdominal pain, neck and back pain, joint pain, myofascial pain, and headaches (2018)

On February 7, 2014, Madison and Sarah Lester filed a petition on behalf of their then-minor child, Emilee Lester, alleging that HPV vaccinations received on July 27, 2010, September 30, 2010, and February 4, 2011, caused her to develop abdominal pain, neck and back pain, joint pain, myofascial pain, and headaches. Emilee Lester was substituted as petitioner on January 23, 2017.

Her counsel was relieved on August 17, 2017, and Ms. Lester has been representing herself since that time.

Despite multiple attempts by the court to schedule a status conference and orders to file status reports, Ms. Lester failed to comply.

She was provided with a list of attorneys practicing in the Vaccine Program and requested additional time to retain counsel, but again failed to file required status reports. An Order to Show Cause was issued, warning that failure to respond would result in dismissal.

Ms. Lester did not respond.

The court found that it has been over a year since she became a pro se litigant and that she repeatedly failed to comply with court orders and requests. Consequently, the case was dismissed for failure to prosecute and failure to follow court orders.