Vaccine Injured Children's Compensation Act of 2001

Vaccine Injured Children's Compensation Act of 2001 - Amends provisions of the Public Health Service Act relating to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program to: (1) designate the Program as a remedial program under which sovereign immunity does not apply; (2) change the burden of proof requirement for the award of compensation from a preponderance of the evidence to evidence sufficient to justify a belief that the petitioner's claims are well grounded (while giving the benefit of doubt to the petitioner); (3) require any defense raised that an illness, injury, or death was due to unrelated factors to be proved by clear and convincing evidence; (4) authorize as Program compensation expenses necessary for the establishment of a trust to receive Program funds, as well as expenses incurred for family counseling or training necessitated by the vaccine-related injury; (5) allow the award of petitioner's attorneys' fees; (6) increase to up to 72 months the statute of limitations under the Program; (7) allow such period to be extended for an additional 36 months after a petitioner first knew or should have known about his or her eligibility for compensation; (8) toll the statute of limitations until a petitioner reaches age 18 and, if a petitioner is incompetent, until 24 months after a guardian is appointed; and (9) authorize the refiling of a previously failed petition if the petitioner would have met the extended statute of limitations provided under this Act.

[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1287 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1287

  To amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to the Vaccine 
                      Injury Compensation Program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 29, 2001

Mr. Weldon of Florida (for himself, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Burton of Indiana, 
   Mr. Frank, Mr. Sessions, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Horn, Ms. McCarthy of 
  Missouri, and Mr. Turner) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to the Vaccine 
                      Injury Compensation Program.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Vaccine Injured Children's 
Compensation Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE OF PROGRAM.

    Section 2110(a) of the Public Health Service Act, such Act (42 
U.S.C. 300aa-10(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following 
sentence: ``Such Program is a remedial program that is to be construed, 
both as to causation and damages, in a fashion that gives broad effect 
to the remedial purpose of this subtitle. Concepts of sovereign 
immunity do not apply in such Program.''.

SEC. 3. BURDEN OF PROOF.

    Section 2113 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300aa-13) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``a 
                preponderance of the evidence'' and inserting the 
                following: ``submitting evidence sufficient to justify 
                a belief by a fair and impartial individual that 
                petitioner's claims are well grounded as to''; and
                    (B) in the matter after and below subparagraph (B), 
                by adding at the end the following: ``When, after 
                consideration of all evidence and material of record in 
                a case, there is an approximate balance of positive and 
                negative evidence, while applying the standard under 
                subparagraph (A), regarding the merits of an issue 
                material to the determination of the matter, the 
                benefit of the doubt in resolving each such issue shall 
                be given to petitioner.'';
            (2) in subsection (a)(2)(B)--
                    (A) by inserting ``only'' before ``include 
                infection''; and
                    (B) by inserting a comma after ``metabolic 
                disturbances'';
            (3) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following 
        paragraph:
            ``(3) Any defense raised by respondent that the illness, 
        disability, injury, condition, or death described in the 
        petition was in fact due to factors unrelated to the 
        administration of the vaccine must be proved by clear and 
        convincing evidence and may not be made on the basis of a 
        repudiation of the Vaccine Injury Table.''; and
            (4) in subsection (b)(1), in the matter after and below 
        subparagraph (B), by striking ``shall consider the entire 
        record and the course of the injury'' and inserting the 
        following: ``shall consider the entire record. In the 
        evaluation of damages and future needs, the special master or 
        court shall consider the course of injury''.

SEC. 4. COMPENSATION ISSUES.

    Section 2115 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300aa-15) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(A)--
                            (i) in clause (ii), by striking ``and'' at 
                        the end;
                            (ii) in clause (iii), by striking the 
                        period at the end of subclause (II) and 
                        inserting ``; and''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following 
                        clause:
                    ``(iv) are necessary for the establishment and 
                maintenance of a trust to receive program funds.'';
                    (B) in paragraph (4), by adding after the period 
                the following sentence: ``No reduction to net present 
                value shall be applied to this portion of a 
                petitioner's award.''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following paragraph:
            ``(5) Actual unreimbursable expenses that have been or will 
        be incurred for family counseling and/ or training determined 
to be reasonably necessary and that result from the vaccine-related 
injury for which the petitioner seeks compensation.'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by adding ``and'' after the 
                comma at the end;
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``, and'' and 
                inserting a period; and
                    (C) by striking paragraph (3); and
            (3) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the following 
        paragraph:
            ``(4)(A) During the pendency of a petition filed under 
        section 2111 (whether for a vaccine administered after the 
        effective date of this part or before such date), the special 
        master or court may, upon application of the petitioner, award 
        payments to cover the petitioner's reasonable attorneys' fees 
        and other costs that have been incurred with respect to the 
        petition.
            ``(B) Payments under subparagraph (A) regarding the 
        petition involved may not be made more frequently than once 
        every 90 days.'' .

SEC. 5. LIMITATIONS OF ACTIONS.

    Section 2116 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300aa-16) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``36 months'' and 
                inserting ``72 months'';
                    (B) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) by striking ``24 months'' and inserting 
                        ``36 months''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``48 months'' and 
                        inserting ``72 months''; and
                    (C) by adding after and below paragraph (3) the 
                following:
``Notwithstanding the limitations contained in this subtitle as amended 
by the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Corrective Amendments of 
2001, the time period for filing a petition shall be extended an 
additional 36 months from the date the petitioner first knew or 
reasonably should have known that the petitioner may have been eligible 
for compensation under this subtitle, including knowledge not only that 
the injury or death involved may have been caused by the vaccine, but 
also that a petition under section 2111 was a potential remedy.'';
            (2) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by striking ``2 years'' and inserting ``72 months''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following subsections:
    ``(d) The statute of limitations for filing a petition under 
section 2111 shall be tolled until petitioner reaches the age of 18, 
and, if a petitioner is incompetent, until 24 months after a guardian 
is appointed or otherwise qualified by a court of competent 
jurisdiction.
    ``(e) Notwithstanding section 2114(c)(4) or 2111(b)(2), if a 
petitioner who previously filed a petition under section 2111 was 
denied compensation because of (1) failure to satisfy the former $1,000 
unreimbursed expenses requirement of section 2111(c)(1)(D)(I), or (2) 
failure to satisfy the filing deadlines set forth in section 2114, in 
any case in which the petitioner would have satisfied the limitations 
of actions provisions of this subtitle as amended by the Vaccine Injury 
Compensation Program Corrective Amendments of 2001, then the petitioner 
shall have the right to refile the petition within 72 months after 
reaching the age of majority, or within 24 months after the effective 
date of such Amendments, whichever is the longer period.''.
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