Roy Bush v. HHS - other (2017)

Roy Bush filed a petition for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program on May 11, 2015, alleging injury from a vaccine listed on the Vaccine Injury Table. Initially, Mr.

Bush was represented by counsel. His attorney was granted leave to withdraw on August 2, 2016.

A status conference was held on September 28, 2016, during which Mr. Bush informed the court that he was seeking new counsel.

Following this conference, the Special Master ordered Mr. Bush to file a status report by November 14, 2016, detailing his progress in retaining new legal representation.

Court staff attempted to contact Mr. Bush by telephone on November 21, 2016, leaving a voicemail requesting the status report.

Mr. Bush did not respond.

A second attempt to contact him by telephone on November 28, 2016, was also unsuccessful. On November 30, 2016, the Special Master issued an Order to Show Cause, directing Mr.

Bush to file a status report or otherwise demonstrate why his case should not be dismissed for failure to prosecute, by January 17, 2017. The order explicitly stated that failure to respond would result in dismissal.

Mr. Bush did not file the required status report, nor did he contact the court to indicate his intention to continue prosecuting the case.

He never contacted chambers or otherwise responded to the court's orders. The Special Master noted that it is the petitioner's responsibility to prosecute their case and comply with court orders, citing Tsekouras v.

Sec'y, HHS and Sapharas v. Sec'y, HHS, as well as Vaccine Rule 21(b).

Consequently, the case was dismissed on February 23, 2017, for failure to prosecute and failure to follow court orders. The clerk was directed to enter judgment accordingly.

The public decision was reissued for publication on February 23, 2017.