American Innovation is at Risk.
For 40 years, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) has protected patients injured by vaccines, while providing stability to vaccine producers.
But HHS and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are threatening this trusted and efficient program.
VICP: Trusted. Reliable. Responsible.
VICP was established in 1986 by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in response to frivolous litigation targeting manufacturers of trusted vaccines. Numerous important vaccines were at risk of disappearing due to the threat of litigation.
In the last 40 years, more than $5.2 billion has been distributed to worthy claimants who were injured by vaccines–without windfalls for contingency fee-based trial lawyers.
VICP works. But RFK Jr. and his trial bar allies want to destroy it, so they can cash in on frivolous litigation at the expense of victims and American taxpayers.
What’s at Stake:
Secretary Kennedy is considering flooding VICP by adding costly and unfounded autism-related claims to the system. The facts are clear: vaccines do not cause autism.
Allowing frivolous autism claims into VICP would devastate the program, creating huge backlogs and decimating the trust fund. A recent study estimated that frivolous VICP petitions would likely command compensation awards totaling nearly $100 million (with awards running nearly $30 billion per year thereafter) and deny justice to true victims of vaccine injuries.
Without a solvent or functional VICP, state tort lawsuits will clog civil courts where trial lawyers will file class-action lawsuits and cash in.
The Facts:
VICP Provides Relief that Civil Courts Cannot
- In 2025, 933 claimants received compensation totaling over $132 million, second only to 2024 — when 1,221 claimants received nearly $150 million — the highest annual total in the VICP’s history.
- Nearly all award money went directly to plaintiffs.
Civil Courts Cannot Meet the Demand
- According to the National Center for State Courts, state civil caseload has steadily increased in recent years, reaching 58 million cases nationwide.
- As state courts are struggling to keep up with a continual rise in caseloads, dismantling VICP will further strain the courts. Outside of VICP, attorneys commonly receive 33% of all judgments before plaintiffs see a cent.
- Class action claims in civil court will only serve to enrich plaintiffs’ attorneys, who reap enormous fees, while worthy claimants face new barriers between them and the payouts they deserve.