Melissa Hall v. HHS - Hepatitis B, autoimmune encephalitis (2015)

Melissa Hall filed a petition on July 23, 2014, alleging that a hepatitis B vaccine received on August 16, 2011, caused her to suffer autoimmune encephalitis. She did not file any medical records or proof of vaccination with her petition.

The court granted her motion to proceed in forma pauperis and provided lists of attorneys who practice in the Vaccine Program. After multiple attempts to schedule a status conference and subsequent orders to show cause for failure to prosecute, the court received no communication from Ms.

Hall. Consequently, the case was dismissed for failure to prosecute.

The decision noted that to prove causation, a petitioner must establish a medical theory connecting the vaccination and injury, a logical sequence of cause and effect, and a proximate temporal relationship, supported by reputable medical or scientific explanations. Ms.

Hall failed to provide any medical records or expert opinion to support her allegations, which is required under the Vaccine Act.