The Vaccine Claim Process

Let Our Successful Vaccine Injury Attorney Represent You

If you are attempting to file a vaccine injury claim, it’s imperative to retain legal services from a vaccine injury attorney who is experienced and reliable. Although the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) was established to be a non-adversarial and non-litigious entity, the filing process presents a wide variety of legal complexities.

At Jeffrey S. Pop & Associates, we will pay the cost of litigating your case, including the filing fees, medical records copying fees, expert physician fees, etc. We are paid by the Court of Federal Claims at the conclusion of your case, meaning we will not charge you and we will not take any percentage or contingency fees from your compensation award.

Information You Need to Build Your Case

First, we will ask for a copy of all the relevant medical records (if you possess copies) and a list of every doctor or hospital where you were treated for your vaccine injury. We will use this list to collect the remaining medical documents on file at each location. We then need to provide a copy of your entire, thorough medical records to the Court.

How to File a Claim with the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program

Your petition must be filed with the Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C. Once the petition is filed, your case will be assigned to a Special Master, who is a specialized judge that exclusively administers vaccine injury claims and decides the outcome of these cases. There are only eight (8) Special Masters who are the Judges. Our firm has experience with each eight.

Legal Procedures and Trial Expectations

In these cases, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) acts as the defendant and is represented by Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers during the entire process. HHS reviews the petition and decides whether to challenge your claim that the vaccine was responsible for your injury or to acknowledge that the vaccine was accountable.

If HHS acknowledges that the vaccine caused your injury, then the court must determine the value of the damages. If an amount cannot be agreed upon, then a trial (hearing) is conducted before the Special Master. If HHS doesn’t concede that the vaccine caused your injury, there is an initial hearing on the subject of whether the vaccine caused your injury. Usually, the trial is held at the nearest federal courthouse to where you reside.

At the conclusion of the testimonies, the Special Master will decide whether or not the vaccine caused your injury. If the Special Master decides in your favor, we will proceed to the issue of damages. If a compromise isn’t determined with the HHS as to the value of the damages, a second trial must be conducted to determine the compensation amount.

Cases can take one year to several years, depending on the circumstances of your case. Compensation includes monetary damages for pain and suffering, past and future lost wages, past and future medical expenses, and attorneys’ fees and costs. While there is no limit of compensation for medical expenses and lost wages, there is a $250,000 maximum limit for pain and suffering.

*Success rate does not include the infrequent filing to protect statute of limitation time limit where cases are not completely investigated.