If you get a vaccine and develop a serious health problem, you may be entitled to compensation; however, the first step is not filing a lawsuit but filing a petition. You must know which vaccine you received that caused the problem and how the system works.
There are federal vaccine compensation programs, primarily the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) and the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP), designed to reimburse individuals who suffer serious injuries from covered vaccines.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has launched a federal initiative to study suspected vaccine side effects, but this does not change the current process of determining which program applies, proving injuries, and submitting a petition.
Which Compensation Program Applies?
Congress created the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) after lawsuits threatened the vaccine supply. Operating since 1988, the program is a no-fault system: you do not have to prove that a vaccine manufacturer or provider was negligent.
The VICP covers children and adults who receive covered vaccines, including seasonal flu, measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), tetanus, hepatitis A and B, HPV, and chickenpox vaccines. Parents, guardians, and legal representatives can file on behalf of eligible individuals.
But not every shot makes the list. Shingles vaccines are excluded, and coverage sometimes depends on the formulation.
The Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP) covers COVID-19 vaccine claims.
For Claims Under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP)
What Do You Have to Prove?
To qualify for VICP compensation, you must establish that the vaccine caused your injury or significantly aggravated an existing condition. Developing symptoms after a shot is not enough on its own.
The VICP uses a Vaccine Injury Table that lists certain injuries associated with covered vaccines and specifies when symptoms must appear. If your injury meets the Table’s definitions and timing requirements, the vaccine is presumed to have caused it unless another cause is proven.
If your injury does not meet those requirements, you can still seek compensation, but you must establish causation through medical records, medical opinions, or expert testimony.
The injury must also be serious enough to qualify: its effects must have lasted more than six months after vaccination, resulted in inpatient hospitalization and surgery, or resulted in death.
How Does “Vaccine Court” Work?
Despite being an alternative to a traditional lawsuit, the VICP still involves a court. You file a petition with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and submit a copy to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
From there, HHS reviews the medical issues, and the Department of Justice submits medical and legal analysis. A court-appointed special master decides whether to award compensation and how much, sometimes after a hearing.
Claims can also settle. That does not establish that the vaccine caused the alleged injury.
How Much Can You Receive?
There is no single cap on a VICP injury award. Compensation may cover unreimbursed medical expenses, rehabilitation, custodial care, and related expenses without a dollar cap, plus lost earnings and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
The $250,000 limit applies to pain and suffering, not the entire award. Qualifying death claims provide a $250,000 death benefit to the deceased person’s estate, along with eligible attorneys’ fees and costs
You do not have to hire a lawyer. And the program may pay reasonable legal fees even for unsuccessful claims that meet its good-faith and reasonable-basis requirements.
What Are the Filing Deadlines?
Here, the calendar matters. VICP injury claims generally must be filed within three years of the first symptom or manifestation of the injury’s onset or significant aggravation—not necessarily the diagnosis.
Death claims generally must be filed within two years of death and within four years of the first symptom or manifestation of the injury that caused it. Both limits apply.
Limited exceptions exist, but they are not a good reason to put off filing.
For COVID-19 Claims
The CICP is an administrative program run by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), rather than a vaccine-court proceeding. Its deadline is much shorter: you generally must file within one year of receiving the vaccine (not of developing symptoms or receiving a diagnosis).
The proof requirements differ, too. Unless an applicable injury-table presumption is available, you need compelling, reliable, valid medical and scientific evidence that the vaccine directly caused a serious physical injury or death. Timing alone is not enough.
Benefits are narrower as well. They may cover qualifying unreimbursed medical expenses, lost employment income, and survivor death benefits, but not pain and suffering or attorneys’ fees. The CICP generally pays only expenses or losses not covered by insurance or other available benefits.
Can You Still Sue For A Vaccine-Related Injury?
Sometimes – but completing the compensation process is not an automatic ticket to a lawsuit.
For VICP-covered vaccines, you generally must pursue the program’s remedies before suing the manufacturer or vaccine administrator. A civil lawsuit may be available after rejecting the VICP judgment or withdrawing your petition under specified legal conditions. Even then, the Vaccine Act limits certain claims and provides liability protections.
COVID-19 vaccines face a different barrier. The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) broadly protects covered manufacturers, providers, and others from liability when applicable requirements are met. It contains an exception for willful misconduct, but an unsuccessful CICP claim does not itself remove that immunity.
Reporting an Injury Is Not Filing a Claim
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) co-manage the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). This is where you can submit a VAERS report of an adverse reaction to a vaccine.
However, a VAER report does not substitute for a VICP petition or CICP benefits request.
If you have a vaccine-related injury, preserve your vaccination and medical records, and check the applicable deadline promptly. A lawyer familiar with vaccine injury claims can help determine which program applies and whether a separate lawsuit is available.
