Death cases
Live · 12,052 cases in database · latest filing 2026-03-05
The VICP database contains 404 cases involving the death of the petitioner. Of these, 237 (59%) were compensated, with combined awards of $60.4M. Death cases involve a different settlement framework than injury cases — wrongful-death awards are statutorily capped at $250,000 per the Vaccine Act, plus pain-and-suffering and reasonable funeral expenses.
The chart below shows death-case counts by vaccine type. Browse all 404 death cases →
Death cases
404
total filings
Total paid
$60.4M
to surviving families
Death cases by vaccine
Cyan = compensated, rose = denied/dismissed/pending.
Demographics
Children
144
36% of death cases · under 18 (explicit, inferred, or by recorded age)
Adults
249
62% of death cases · 18+ (explicit, inferred, or by recorded age)
Unknown
11
3% · no age and no minor flag in source documents
Death cases by life stage
Children = under 18 by recorded age, explicit minor flag, or AI-inferred minor flag from case text.
Pediatric death cases — age at vaccination
72 of 144 pediatric death cases have an exact recorded age. The remaining are flagged as minor without a precise age (see "no exact age" breakdown below).
Infant-heavy distribution
Among pediatric death cases with a recorded exact age, 69% (50 of 72) are infants under 1 year old. Toddlers (1–2) are next, then drops sharply for older children. The pediatric vaccine schedule (Hep B at birth; the 2-, 4-, and 6-month visits) overlaps the period of greatest infant fragility — the 0–6 month window also concentrates the heaviest combined vaccine load (5–6 simultaneous shots per visit).
Adult death cases — age at vaccination
34 of 249 adult death cases have an exact recorded age.
Death cases without a recorded exact age
Many older case documents do not state the petitioner's age numerically. For these, the AI extractor classifies whether the source text refers to a minor (e.g., "the infant," "plaintiff's daughter, age 4") or an adult ("the 47-year-old"). The breakdown below shows how the 298 death cases without an exact recorded age are classified:
| Classification | Cases |
|---|
| Confirmed minor (no age) | 40 |
| Inferred minor (no age) | 29 |
| Confirmed adult (no age) | 67 |
| Inferred adult (no age) | 151 |
| No info at all | 11 |
Frequently asked questions about the VICP
General questions about the U.S. Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.
What is the VICP?
The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) is a federal no-fault compensation program for individuals who allege injury from vaccines listed on the Vaccine Injury Table. It was established by the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 and is administered jointly by HHS, the Department of Justice, and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Petitions are decided by Special Masters in lieu of traditional civil litigation.
What is the Althen test?
Althen v. HHS, 418 F.3d 1274 (Fed. Cir. 2005) is the controlling precedent for off-Table causation in the VICP. To prevail on a non-Table claim a petitioner must show: (1) a medical theory causally connecting the vaccination and the injury; (2) a logical sequence of cause and effect showing the vaccination was the reason for the injury; and (3) a proximate temporal relationship between the vaccination and the injury.
What is the average VICP award?
The median compensation award in VICP is approximately $80,000; the mean is approximately $130,000 because of a long right-tail of catastrophic-injury and death-of-petitioner cases that compensate in the millions. As of the most recent corpus refresh, the program has paid approximately $1.19 billion to 9,200+ compensated petitioners.
How long does a VICP case take?
Median time from filing to final judgment in the VICP is approximately 21 months; mean is approximately 26 months. Compensated cases tend to resolve faster than denied or dismissed cases, because contested off-Table causation petitions require multi-round expert witness testimony.
Who decides VICP cases?
Special Masters of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, Office of Special Masters, decide VICP petitions. There are approximately 8 active Special Masters at any given time, including a Chief Special Master who manages the docket. Decisions can be appealed to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (judges) and from there to the Federal Circuit.