VICP Registry Case Source Bundle
Canonical URL: https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00262
Package ID: USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00262
Petitioner: Stephanie Roche
Filed: 2020-03-09
Decided: 2022-12-28
Vaccine: varicella
Vaccination date: 2017-06-24
Condition: transverse myelitis as the initial presentation for multiple sclerosis
Outcome: dismissed
Award amount USD: 

AI-assisted case summary:
Stephanie Roche alleged that a varicella vaccine she received on June 24, 2017, caused her to develop transverse myelitis, which she presented as the initial manifestation of multiple sclerosis (MS). She reported symptoms of numbness in her feet starting on October 21, 2017, which spread upwards over the following days. Ms. Roche filed her petition on March 9, 2020. The respondent, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, accepted her MS diagnosis but disputed causation, noting a lack of linkage between the vaccine and her condition by treating doctors or experts, and questioned the temporal relationship. The Secretary also suggested that prior illnesses might have caused her neurological problems. Ms. Roche was repeatedly ordered to file an expert report to support her claim, but she failed to do so despite multiple extensions and status conferences. During one conference, her expert stated he could not offer a favorable opinion without further testing, which Ms. Roche declined. After Ms. Roche failed to respond to an order to show cause why her case should not be dismissed, the court dismissed the case for insufficient evidence. No compensation was awarded.

Theory of causation field:
Off-Table

Public staged source text:

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DOCUMENT 1: USCOURTS-cofc-1_20-vv-00262-0
Date issued/filed: 2022-12-28
Pages: 4
Docket text: PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 12/12/2022) regarding 47 DECISION of Special Master, Signed by Special Master Christian J. Moran. (cjaj) Service on parties made.
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Case 1:20-vv-00262-UNJ Document 48 Filed 12/28/22 Page 1 of 4
In the United States Court of Federal Claims
OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
STEPHANIE ROCHE, *
* No. 20-262v
Petitioner, * Special Master Christian J. Moran
*
v. *
* Filed: December 12, 2022
SECRETARY OF HEALTH *
AND HUMAN SERVICES, * Decision dismissing case;
* order to show cause.
Respondent. *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jonathan Joseph Svitak, Shannon Law Group, P.C., Woodridge, IL, for petitioner;
Neil Bhargava, United States Dep’t of Justice, Washington, D.C., for respondent.
UNPUBLISHED DECISION DENYING COMPENSATION1
Ms. Stephanie Roche sought compensation through the Vaccine Program.
42 U.S.C. § 300aa-10 through 34 (2012). Ms. Roche, however, has not presented
sufficient evidence to be entitled to compensation. Because Ms. Roche has not met
her burden of proof, her case is DISMISSED.
I. Procedural History
Petitioner, Ms. Stephanie Roche, while represented by attorney Mr. Jonathan
Joseph Svitak, alleged a varicella vaccine she received on June 24, 2017 caused her
to develop transverse myelitis as the initial presentation for multiple sclerosis
(“MS”). Pet., filed Mar. 9, 2020, at 1. Ms. Roche alleged that on October 21,
1 The E-Government Act, 44 U.S.C. § 3501 note (2012) (Federal Management and Promotion of
Electronic Government Services), requires that the Court post this decision on its website. The
posting of this decision will make it available to anyone with the internet. Pursuant to Vaccine
Rule 18(b), the parties have 14 days to file a motion proposing redaction of medical information
or other information described in 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-12(d)(4). Any redactions ordered by the
special master will appear in the document posted on the website.

Case 1:20-vv-00262-UNJ Document 48 Filed 12/28/22 Page 2 of 4
2017, she “developed symptoms of numbness in her feet. Over the course of the
next few days, the numbness spread up her legs to her waist.” Pet. ¶ 4. Ms. Roche
filed medical records between the filing of her petition and July 17, 2020, when the
records were deemed complete.
Respondent, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, recommended
against compensation. Although respondent accepted Ms. Roche’s MS diagnosis,
he disputed causation, noting that neither a treating doctor nor a retained expert
linked the varicella vaccination to Ms. Roche’s condition. Resp’t’s Report, filed
Oct. 26, 2022, at 8. In addition, respondent pointed out that petitioner “ha[d] not
presented reliable scientific or medical evidence establishing that the time between
her vaccinations and the onset of symptoms would be considered “medically
acceptable to infer causation-in-fact.” Id. Lastly, “the Secretary also suggested
that gastrointestinal and upper respiratory illnesses in the weeks before onset could
have caused Ms. Roche’s neurologic problems.” Order to Show Cause, issued Oct.
3, 2022, at 1. Ms. Roche was ordered to file a fact/onset affidavit as well as any
other relevant affidavits. See Order, filed Sept. 11, 2020
Following a status conference on November 19, 2020 discussing
respondent’s report, the undersigned ordered Ms. Roche to file a status report on
her efforts to retain an expert by January 4, 2021. Order, issued Nov. 19, 2022.
Ms. Roche did not file any report or materials by the January 4, 2021
deadline. However, approximately four months later, a motion for extension of
time was filed by Ms. Roche, seeking until June 6, 2021 to file her expert report.
Pet’r’s Mot., filed May 17, 2021. This motion was granted. Order, issued May 18,
2021.
Ms. Roche then filed a second motion for extension of time, seeking an
additional 60 days to file her expert report. Pet’r’s Mot., filed June 22, 2021. A
status conference was then held on June 29, 2021, when Ms. Roche represented
that she had conferred with five experts, but none accepted the offer to serve as
Ms. Roche’s expert. Order, issued June 29, 2021. She was ordered to file her
expert report by August 6, 2021. Id.
Although Ms. Roche filed a curriculum vitae for Dr. Justin Willer by the
August 6, 2021 deadline, she did not file her expert report. The absence of an
expert report led to Ms. Roche filing a third motion for extension of time, seeking
another sixty days to file her report. Pet’r’s Mot., filed Aug. 6 2021. The
undersigned granted the motion. Order, issued Aug. 10, 2021.
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Case 1:20-vv-00262-UNJ Document 48 Filed 12/28/22 Page 3 of 4
Over the next nine months, Ms. Roche submitted several new motions for
extension of time, each of which sought additional time to file her expert report.
Pet’r’s Mot., filed Oct. 6, 2021; Pet’r’s Mot., filed Dec. 6, 2021; Pet’r’s Mot., filed
Apr. 5, 2022.
A status conference was held on May 5, 2022 to discuss Ms. Roche’s
progress with her expert. There, Ms. Roche stated that she declined to undergo a
test that Dr. Willer had requested—specifically, a spinal tap—and as a result, Dr.
Willer stated that he could not offer a favorable opinion absent the test.
Since the May 5, 2022 status conference, Ms. Roche failed to file any
additional medical records or status reports detailing her efforts to proceed with
prosecuting her case. An order to show cause was then issued, requiring Ms.
Roche to submit a response as to why her case should not be dismissed. Order to
Show Cause, issued Oct. 3, 2022. To date, Ms. Roche has not filed any response.
II. Analysis
To receive compensation under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury
Compensation Program (hereinafter “the Program”), a petitioner must prove either
1) that she suffered a “Table Injury”— i.e., an injury falling within the Vaccine
Injury Table— corresponding to one of her vaccinations, or 2) that she suffered an
injury that was actually caused by a vaccine. See 42 U.S.C. § 300aa–13(a)(1)(A)
and § 300aa-11(c)(1). An examination of the record did not uncover any evidence
that Ms. Roche suffered a “Table Injury.” Thus, Ms. Roche is necessarily pursuing
a causation-in-fact claim. As part of a causation-in-fact claim, a petitioner must
“show by preponderant evidence that the vaccination brought about [the] injury by
providing: (1) a medical theory causally connecting the vaccination and injury; (2)
a logical sequence of cause and effect showing that the vaccination was the reason
for the injury; and (3) a showing of proximate temporal relationship between
vaccination and injury.” Althen v. Sec’y of Health & Hum. Servs., 418 F.3d 1274,
1278 (Fed. Cir. 2005).
Under the Act, a petitioner may not be given a Program award based solely
on the petitioner’s claims alone. Rather, the petition must be supported by either
medical records or by the opinion of a competent physician. 42 U.S.C. § 300aa–
13(a)(1). In this case, because the medical records do not support petitioner’s
claim, a medical opinion must be offered in support.
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Case 1:20-vv-00262-UNJ Document 48 Filed 12/28/22 Page 4 of 4
When a petitioner (or plaintiff) fails to respond to orders, a special master
may dismiss the case. See Sapharas v. Sec’y of Health & Hum. Servs., 35 Fed. Cl.
503 (1996); Tsekouras v. Sec’y of Health & Hum. Servs., 26 Cl. Ct. 439 (1992),
aff’d, 991 F.2d 810 (Fed. Cir. 1993) (table); Vaccine Rule 21(b).
Here, Ms. Roche was ordered on several occasions to file a medical expert
report to support her claim but failed to do so. In fact, during the May 5, 2022
status conference, Ms. Roche’s counsel noted that her expert could not provide a
favorable opinion absent Ms. Roche undergoing additional testing. When Ms.
Roche was ordered to respond to the October 3, 2022 order to show cause by
December 5, 2022 as to why her case should not be dismissed, she failed to file a
response. Consequently, Ms. Roche’s case is dismissed for failure to present
evidence, not as a sanction. See Duncan v. Sec’y of Health & Hum. Servs., 153
Fed. Cl. 642 (2021) (denying motion for review of a decision for failure to present
persuasive evidence).
Accordingly, this case is dismissed for insufficient evidence. The Clerk
shall enter judgment accordingly. See Vaccine Rule 21(b).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
s/Christian J. Moran
Christian J. Moran
Special Master
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