Domenica Foster v. HHS - Influenza, Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) and peripheral neuropathy (2023)

Domenica Foster filed a petition alleging that she suffered from Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) and peripheral neuropathy as a result of an influenza vaccine she received on October 17, 2017. She later amended her petition to allege polyneuropathy caused by the vaccination.

The court ordered her to file an expert report by September 26, 2022, to support her claim. Petitioner requested an extension, which was granted, with a new deadline of November 10, 2022.

On that date, she informed the court that she would not be filing an expert report, stating that her counsel had discussed the necessity of this with her. The court issued a Show Cause Order on December 7, 2022, explaining that a petitioner cannot be awarded compensation based solely on their claims and must provide medical records or a competent physician's opinion on causation.

The court noted that Petitioner's medical records lacked a definitive statement of causation and that she would be unable to establish but-for causation without additional evidence. Petitioner was given 54 days to respond to the Show Cause Order.

As Petitioner failed to respond and indicated she would not file an expert report, the court dismissed the case for insufficient proof and failure to prosecute. The decision was issued on May 3, 2023.