PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

Pay out money under the Program when a special master or the court, after looking at the whole record, finds two things by a "more likely than not" standard: the petitioner proved the required items listed in their petition, and there is not more evidence that the illness, injury, condition, or death was caused by something unrelated to the vaccine named in the petition. Causes "unrelated to the vaccine" do not include unexplained or unknown causes. They can include things like infections, toxins, trauma (including birth trauma and related lack of oxygen), or metabolic problems — but only if the petitioner shows those were the main cause. The special master or court must consider all relevant medical and scientific evidence in the record, including diagnoses, medical opinions, autopsy or coroner reports, and test results and summaries. They may decide the first sign or a big worsening happened within the time listed in the Vaccine Injury Table even if records say otherwise, but only if the petitioner proves by more likely than not that it did. "Record" means the file the special masters make in the Court of Federal Claims for the petition.

Title 42, §300aa–13

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Compensation shall be awarded under the Program to a petitioner if the special master or court finds on the record as a whole—

(A)that the petitioner has demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence the matters required in the petition by section 300aa–11(c)(1) of this title, and

(B)that there is not a preponderance of the evidence that the illness, disability, injury, condition, or death described in the petition is due to factors unrelated to the administration of the vaccine described in the petition.

(2)For purposes of paragraph (1), the term “factors unrelated to the administration of the vaccine”—

(A)does not include any idiopathic, unexplained, unknown, hypothetical, or undocumentable cause, factor, injury, illness, or condition, and

(B)may, as documented by the petitioner’s evidence or other material in the record, include infection, toxins, trauma (including birth trauma and related anoxia), or metabolic disturbances which have no known relation to the vaccine involved, but which in the particular case are shown to have been the agent or agents principally responsible for causing the petitioner’s illness, disability, injury, condition, or death.

(b)(1)In determining whether to award compensation to a petitioner under the Program, the special master or court shall consider, in addition to all other relevant medical and scientific evidence contained in the record—

(A)any diagnosis, conclusion, medical judgment, or autopsy or coroner’s report which is contained in the record regarding the nature, causation, and aggravation of the petitioner’s illness, disability, injury, condition, or death, and

(B)the results of any diagnostic or evaluative test which are contained in the record and the summaries and conclusions.

(2)The special master or court may find the first symptom or manifestation of onset or significant aggravation of an injury, disability, illness, condition, or death described in a petition occurred within the time period described in the Vaccine Injury Table even though the occurrence of such symptom or manifestation was not recorded or was incorrectly recorded as having occurred outside such period. Such a finding may be made only upon demonstration by a preponderance of the evidence that the onset or significant aggravation of the injury, disability, illness, condition, or death described in the petition did in fact occur within the time period described in the Vaccine Injury Table.

(c)For purposes of this section, the term “record” means the record established by the special masters of the United States Court of Federal Claims in a proceeding on a petition filed under section 300aa–11 of this title.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 300aa–13, act

July 1, 1944, § 2114, was successively renumbered by subsequent acts and transferred, see section 238k of this title. A prior section 2113 of act

July 1, 1944, was successively renumbered by subsequent acts and transferred, see section 238j of this title.

Amendments

1992—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–572 substituted “United States Court of Federal Claims” for “United States Claims Court”. 1990—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101–502 inserted “the” after “special masters of”. 1989—Subsecs. (a)(1), (b). Pub. L. 101–239, § 6601(j)(1), substituted “special master or court” for “court” wherever appearing. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101–239, § 6601(j)(2), inserted “special masters of” after “established by the”. 1987—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100–203 substituted “the United States Claims Court” for “a district court of the United States”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1992 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 102–572 effective Oct. 29, 1992, see section 911 of Pub. L. 102–572, set out as a note under section 171 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

Effective Date

of 1990 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 101–502 effective Sept. 30, 1990, see section 5(h) of Pub. L. 101–502, set out as a note under section 300aa–11 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1989 AmendmentFor applicability of

Amendments

by Pub. L. 101–239 to petitions filed after Dec. 19, 1989, petitions currently pending in which the evidentiary record is closed, and petitions currently pending in which the evidentiary record is not closed, with provision for an immediate suspension for 30 days of all pending cases, see section 6601(s)(1) of Pub. L. 101–239, set out as a note under section 300aa–10 of this title.

§300aa–13 Determination of Eligibility and Compensation

Summary

Title 42, §300aa–13

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

Amendments

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Effective Date

Effective Date

Amendments

Citations & Metadata