How long VICP cases take: what the court records show
Across 12,402 decided cases with complete dates, the median time from petition filing to decision is 22.0 months — but the timeline depends heavily on how the case ends:
| Outcome | Median time to decision |
|---|---|
| Compensated | 21.7 months |
| Dismissed | 17.7 months |
| Denied (contested and lost) | 56.2 months |
Uncontested claims — the large majority — resolve in roughly a year and a half to two years. Cases that go to a full contested entitlement decision take much longer: a denied claim has typically been in litigation for about 4.7 years.
Timelines also vary by condition. Well-established injury categories move fastest: syncope (median 14.0 months) and SIRVA (21.5 months). Contested neurological categories run far longer: encephalitis/encephalopathy (39.0 months), seizure disorder (47.1 months), and autism-spectrum claims (76 months).
About this data. Computed from every published VICP decision indexed by this registry (12,882 cases as of 2026-07-11), from the public dockets of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Median figures exclude a small number of records with unusable award data. Most compensated cases resolve by stipulation or proffer (negotiated settlement) rather than a litigated finding; an award is the court's resolution of an individual legal claim, not a medical or scientific finding about vaccines generally. Past awards do not predict any individual outcome.