Vaccine Injury Table Proposed Changes

For persons having adverse reactions to a vaccine, there may be good news coming in the near future. On January 14, 2016, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services held a public hearing to receive information and views on its previously announced proposal to amend the Vaccine Injury Table (Table) for claims made to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP). The Table lists all vaccines covered by the NVICP and sets forth the injuries associated with them which are entitled to compensation.  If the amendments become final, they would apply to petitions to the NVICP filed thereafter, which may be sometime this year. The purpose of the changes is to expand the types of injuries, resulting from vaccines already included on the Table, making it easier for persons with those injuries to receive compensation.

The NVICP is a federal program which compensates persons who experience a Vaccine Injury, which occurs when a child or adult experiences certain adverse reactions after receiving one of several vaccinations covered under the NVICP. Even if the injury is not included on the Table, as long as the vaccine is listed, the person can file an “Off-Table” claim.  Claims for compensation to the NVICP are made to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims located in Washington, D.C., by filing a petition. Most “petitioners” are represented by lawyers

The purpose of the Table is to enable petitioners to more easily meet the criteria for eligibility for compensation. The proposed amendments will add certain injuries resulting from administration of certain vaccines already on the Table.  Those injuries consist primarily of shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA), vasovagal syncope (loss of consciousness or fainting), and certain neurological conditions following the seasonal flu vaccine, illnesses such as Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP), acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN or AMSAN), and Miller Fisher Syndrome (FS).

Even though the amendments are not yet in effect, the NVICP often compensates persons with these injuries, and often using a procedure designed to speed up a decision on the claim without extensive litigation.

How can Vaccine Injury Pros help you? 

When our firm is contacted by a person who believes he, she, or a family member may have suffered a SIRVA or other Vaccine Injury, there is no fee to visit about the claim, or to investigate the claim, or to pursue the claim.  Also, the firm pays the expenses incurred to pursue the claim. Therefore, the case can be handled free of charge. And if the claim is paid, any legal fees and costs are paid separately from the amount the person receives, so that the recovery is not reduced by legal expenses. Therefore, there is no reason for a person to not be represented by a lawyer in a SIRVA or Vaccine Injury claim.

You can contact us about a possible Vaccine Injury by visiting our Contact page. And you can learn more about the NVICP and the firm's representation of persons with possible Vaccine Injury claims by visiting the Vaccine Injury page and other articles in our Blog.