Christina Tibbs v. HHS - Influenza, shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) (2025)

Christina Tibbs filed a petition alleging she suffered a shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) from an influenza vaccine she received on September 26, 2019. She filed her petition with the Court of Federal Claims on January 8, 2021.

The respondent, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, contested entitlement, arguing that Ms. Tibbs failed to demonstrate that her shoulder pain began within 48 hours of vaccination and that the pain was limited to the vaccinated shoulder.

The court initially presumed the case might be resolved quickly, but the respondent filed a report contesting entitlement. Following a scheduling order, Ms.

Tibbs' counsel reported that he was unable to contact his client despite repeated efforts over the past year. Consequently, the court issued an Order to Show Cause, warning that failure to respond would lead to dismissal.

Ms. Tibbs did not respond to this order, nor did her counsel appear to be able to contact her.

The court found that the petitioner's failure to prosecute the case, including her failure to respond to court orders and communicate with counsel, justified dismissal. Therefore, the petition was dismissed for failure to prosecute on August 25, 2025.