During the 1980s, parents of children harmed or killed by the DTP vaccine (diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis) and other vaccines began bringing lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers and health care providers that administered these vaccines. Fearful that these lawsuits would result in vaccine shortages, deter the production and development of additional vaccines, and reduce vaccination rates in the United States, Congress created the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP).

In 1988, as part of the NVICP, the federal government established The Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund to both compensate those injured or killed by vaccines and to ensure a continued production of necessary vaccines. Funded by a $.75 excise tax that is charged on each dose of vaccine purchased, the proceeds from these taxes then go into the Trust Fund which is managed by the Department of Treasury. Instead of suing vaccine manufacturers and health care providers directly, the Trust Fund serves as an additional way to compensate eligible individuals who were injured from vaccines covered by the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act. Now, decades later, the Trust Fund has paid out billions of dollars in damages to thousands of people who suffered injuries from vaccines.

How It Works

Instead of initiating a formal lawsuit, individuals file a claim for compensation, called a petition, with the Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C. Not all attorneys can practice in this Court and instead have to be specially admitted. The person on whose behalf the claim is filed is called the petitioner. Once the petition is filed, a Special Master is assigned to the case. A Special Master is a specialized judge that only presides over vaccine injury claims. If necessary, the Special Master will decide the outcome of the claim instead of a jury as in a normal tort case.

via How Vaccine Injury Compensation Process Works