Ridgway D
J Health Polit Policy Law. 1999 Feb;24(1):59-90. doi: 10.1215/03616878-24-1-59.
During the first eight years of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP), 786 contested claims were resolved through published judicial opinions. The likelihood of compensation dependent in part on the closeness of the match between the described injury and a specified list of acknowledged untoward vaccine side effects. In addition, the chances of applicant success were influenced by the applicant's choice of attorney and expert witnesses, by the assignment of the Special Master to decide the case, and increasingly over time, by the applicant's ability to comply with procedural requirements. The majority of contested claims arose from pertussis immunizations. For pertussis claims, the goal of insulating manufacturers from product liability suits has been achieved by granting compensation to applicants whose injuries are not scientifically recognized effects of the vaccine. In spite of (or because of) this jarring contradiction between the legal and medical understanding of causation, vaccine availability and childhood immunization rates improved during the early years of the plan. The apparent success of the program may encourage the substitution of no-fault compensation plans for tort-based consumer protection for other products, both medical and nonmedical.
在国家疫苗伤害赔偿计划（NVICP）实施的头八年里，786起有争议的索赔通过已公布的司法意见得到解决。获得赔偿的可能性部分取决于所描述的伤害与公认的不良疫苗副作用特定清单之间的匹配程度。此外，申请人成功的几率受到申请人对律师和专家证人的选择、负责裁决案件的特别主事官的指派的影响，并且随着时间的推移，越来越受到申请人遵守程序要求能力的影响。大多数有争议的索赔源于百日咳疫苗接种。对于百日咳索赔，通过向那些其伤害并非疫苗科学认可的效果的申请人给予赔偿，实现了使制造商免受产品责任诉讼的目标。尽管（或者因为）在因果关系的法律和医学理解之间存在这种令人震惊的矛盾，但在该计划实施的早期，疫苗的可及性和儿童免疫接种率有所提高。该计划表面上的成功可能会促使以无过错赔偿计划取代针对其他产品（包括医疗和非医疗产品）的基于侵权行为的消费者保护措施。
