VICP compensation amounts: what the court records show
Across 9,173 compensated cases with a published award amount since 1991, the median VICP award is $80,000. Half of all awards fall between $50,000 and $130,000. The average (mean) is higher — about $131,089 — because a small number of catastrophic-injury awards reaching into the millions pull the average up; the median is the more representative figure for a typical compensated claim.
Median award by condition
Conditions with 30+ compensated cases:
| Condition | Compensated cases | Median award |
|---|---|---|
| Encephalitis / encephalopathy | 156 | $200,000 |
| Seizure disorder | 40 | $182,500 |
| Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) | 1,830 | $160,000 |
| Transverse myelitis | 262 | $157,745 |
| Optic neuritis | 43 | $122,000 |
| Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) | 32 | $115,000 |
| Syncope | 45 | $100,000 |
| Brachial neuritis | 208 | $78,122 |
| SIRVA (shoulder injury related to vaccine administration) | 5,657 | $65,000 |
| Bell's palsy | 46 | $61,250 |
Death claims: the statute caps the death benefit at $250,000 (42 U.S.C. § 300aa-15(a)(2)), and the median award in compensated death cases sits at that cap.
A pattern worth understanding: the conditions with the highest median awards tend to have the lowest compensation rates. Severe neurological injuries pay more when compensated but are contested far more often — see how the vaccine court decides cases for why.
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.