Alexander Prague v. HHS - Meningococcal, vaccine-induced chronic migraine headaches (2022)

Alexander Prague, through his mother Lauretta Prague, filed a petition seeking compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. He alleged that the Trumenba and Menactra vaccines, received on July 16, 2016, caused him to suffer from vaccine-induced chronic migraine headaches.

The respondent, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, contested entitlement. The case was initially assigned to a different special master and later reassigned.

The petitioner was ordered to file an expert report supporting his claim, and was granted multiple extensions. However, counsel for the petitioner was unable to confer with his client and subsequently filed status reports indicating this inability.

The court ordered the petitioner to show cause why the case should not be dismissed for failure to comply. Ultimately, the petitioner filed an unopposed motion to dismiss, assessing that he was unlikely to meet the burden of proof required in the Vaccine Program.

The court noted that a petitioner must support their claims with medical records or a physician's opinion, and found insufficient evidence in the record for the petitioner to meet his burden of proof. Therefore, the case was dismissed, and judgment was to be entered in accordance with the decision.

The petitioner also expressed intent to reject the Vaccine Program judgment to preserve his right to file a civil action in the future.