Antonio Rocha v. HHS - Influenza, death (2018)

Raymond Johnson and Sasha Hall filed a petition on December 21, 2016, on behalf of Antonio Rocha, alleging that an influenza vaccination administered on September 3, 2016, caused or substantially contributed to his death on September 6, 2016. The petitioners, who were proceeding pro se, submitted medical records and affidavits describing Mr.

Rocha's condition. The respondent filed a Rule 4(c) Report on August 30, 2017, arguing against compensation.

A status conference on September 12, 2017, addressed two issues: the petitioners' legal standing to represent the decedent under California law and the need for a medical expert to support the claim of vaccine-related causation. The Special Master ordered the petitioners to establish their standing and obtain an expert report, also suggesting they consider obtaining counsel.

Despite multiple extensions, the petitioners failed to file the required expert report. A subsequent status conference on February 24, 2018, resulted in an order setting April 30, 2018, as the final deadline for the expert report, with no further extensions to be granted.

The petitioners again failed to meet this deadline. On May 3, 2018, an order directed the petitioners to file the overdue report immediately.

When they failed to comply, an Order to Show Cause was issued on May 15, 2018, explaining that failure to respond would be interpreted as a failure to prosecute and would result in dismissal. The petitioners did not file the expert report, contact the court, or provide a status report on their legal representative capacity.

The Special Master noted that the record did not contain evidence of a "Table Injury" or sufficient proof, without an expert report, to establish that the alleged injury was caused by the vaccination. The Special Master concluded that the petitioners' repeated failure to comply with court orders, despite being pro se, constituted grounds for dismissal for failure to prosecute under Vaccine Rule 21(b).

The case was dismissed for failure to prosecute and lack of proof. Special Master Brian H.

Corcoran issued the decision on August 3, 2018. The public decision does not describe the specific symptoms, medical tests, or treatments related to Mr.

Rocha's condition. The attorneys involved were Raymond Johnson and Sasha Hall for the petitioners, and Glenn A.

Macleod for the respondent. The Special Master was Brian H.

Corcoran.