The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services set up the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP) in 1988 to compensate individuals and families of individuals injured by covered childhood vaccines.[3] The VICP was adopted in response to a scare over the pertussis portion of the DPT vaccine.[1] These claims were later generally discredited, but some U.S. lawsuits against vaccine makers won substantial awards. Most makers ceased production, and the last remaining major manufacturer threatened to do so.[1] The VICP uses a no-fault system for resolving vaccine injury claims.[1] Compensation covers medical and legal expenses, loss of future earning capacity, and up to $250,000 for pain and suffering; a death benefit of up to $250,000 is available. If certain minimal requirements are met, legal expenses are compensated even for unsuccessful claims.[4] Since 1988, the program has been funded by an excise tax of 75 cents on every purchased dose of covered vaccine. To win an award, a claimant must show a causal connection; if medical records show a child has one of several listed adverse effects soon after vaccination, the assumption is that it was caused by the vaccine. The burden of proof is the civil-law preponderance-of-the-evidence standard, in other words a showing that causation was more likely than not. Denied claims can be pursued in civil courts, though this is rare.[1]
The VICP covers all vaccines listed on the Vaccine Injury Table maintained by the Secretary of Health and Human Services; in 2007 the list included vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), measles, mumps, rubella (German measles), polio, hepatitis B, varicella (chicken pox), Haemophilus influenzae type b, rotavirus, and pneumonia.[5] From 1988 until 8 January 2008, 5,263 claims relating to autism, and 2,865 non-autism claims, were made to the VICP.
925 of these claims, one autism-related (see previous rulings), were compensated, with 1,158 non-autism and 350 autism claims dismissed;
awards (including attorney's fees) totaled $847 million.[6]
The VICP also applies to claims for injuries suffered before 1988; there were 4,264 of these claims of which 1,189 were compensated with awards totaling $903 million.[6]
Vaccine court - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There have been over 2,000 judgments related to vaccinations totaling over $1.7 billion under federal law. It is nice that the government covers the liabilities of the mega rich drug companies concerning the totally safe, never could harm anyone vaccinations they sell for BILLIONS and BILLIONS of dollars each year
The government should do this for every company, actually for all of us. If anyone sues anyone of us for any wrongful action, the government pays the judgment. The government really should have paid BP's damages too. It's only fair, huh?
