If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with a vaccine injury, you may be able to file a claim under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). This is a federal government program funded by an excise tax on vaccines that has paid billions of dollars in financial compensation to vaccine recipients and their families. If you have a VICP claim, you can hire a vaccine injury attorney to handle your claim at no cost.
In order to seek compensation under the VICP on your behalf, your vaccine injury attorney will need various forms of documentation. While your attorney will be able to gather many of the necessary documents for you, your attorney will need you to provide certain forms of documentation as well.
What Documents Do You Need to File a Vaccine Injury Claim Under the VICP?
So, what documents do you need to file a vaccine injury claim under the VICP? Here are seven key forms of documentation:
1. Vaccination Record
The first piece of documentation you will need is proof of your (or your loved one’s) vaccination. While the VICP awards financial compensation on a “no-fault” basis—meaning that claimants do not need to prove that a vaccine manufacturer or healthcare provider is responsible for their diagnosis—filing a successful claim still requires documentation of immunization.
If you have your (or your loved one’s) vaccination record on hand, you should keep this in a safe place to share with your vaccine injury attorney. If you don’t currently have a copy, you should make sure you know the name of the healthcare provider, clinic or pharmacy that administered the vaccine. You can then either contact the vaccine administrator yourself or have your vaccine injury attorney contact them for you.
2. Medical Records
Filing a successful claim under the VICP also requires documentation of your (or your loved one’s) vaccine-related diagnosis. This means that you will need your (or your loved one’s) medical records—and, here too, you can either track these down yourself or ask your attorney to assist you. Along with medical records confirming the diagnosis, you will need to make sure you have documentation of your (or your loved one’s) treatment as well.
Medical records are key documentation in VICP claims for two different, but equally important, reasons. First, your (or your loved one’s) medical records will be essential for proving the vaccine injury for which you are seeking financial compensation. Second, your vaccine injury attorney will use these records (along with various other forms of documentation) to prove the future financial and non-financial losses that you deserve to recover.
3. Medical Bills and Receipts
Along with medical records, medical bills and receipts are also key forms of documentation for VICP claims. These records will be necessary for proving the out-of-pocket costs you are entitled to recover. If you have paid (or partially paid) any medical bills out-of-pocket, these are costs that you can—and should—include in your VICP claim. If you have any medical bills that you haven’t yet paid (or that you can’t afford to pay), your attorney will be able to help you seek coverage for these bills through the VICP claim process.
4. Receipts and Statements for Other Purchases
If you have paid for any medications, medical supplies or medical transportation out-of-pocket, these are costs you should include in your VICP claim as well. While receipts can serve as documentation of these purchases, so can online order confirmations, bank account statements and credit card statements. If you have any documentation of any costs related to your (or your loved one’s) vaccine injury, you will want to collect these records to share with your vaccine injury attorney.
5. Employment Records
The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program also provides coverage for lost income and benefits. This includes not only losses incurred through the date that a claimant files a petition under the VICP, but future losses (or “lost earning capacity”) as well.
Employment records are key documentation for proving past and future lost earnings. Here too, you can try to collect these yourself; or, if you need help, you can rely on your vaccine injury attorney to collect them for you.
6. Expert Reports
In some cases, proving the future costs of a vaccine injury will involve engaging a medical expert who can prepare a report detailing the long-term effects of the injury. In particularly complex cases, it may be necessary to involve other experts as well.
This is one type of documentation that claimants generally can’t collect on their own. When you hire a vaccine injury attorney to represent you, your attorney will be able to engage medical or financial experts as necessary to prepare detailed reports explaining how much you deserve to recover through the VICP.
7. Proof of Pain and Suffering
Finally, along with covering eligible claimants’ financial costs (i.e., medical bills, other out-of-pocket costs and lost wages), the VICP covers eligible claimants’ non-financial losses as well. These are commonly referred to as “pain and suffering.” Here too, however, you will only be able to obtain compensation if you can prove how much you are entitled to recover.
One way to document your (or your loved one’s) pain and suffering is by keeping a “pain journal.” This is a place where you write down the physical and emotional impacts of your (or your loved one’s) vaccine injury on a daily basis. While this can be difficult, it is important; and, generally speaking, the more details you can record, the better. When you hire a vaccine injury attorney to represent you, your attorney will be able to provide additional guidance on the types of information you will want to record.
Discuss Your VICP Claim with an Experienced Vaccine Injury Attorney for Free
Do you need to know more about how to seek financial compensation for a vaccine injury? If so, we invite you to get in touch. Call us at 202-775-9200 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation today.
Leah Durant 
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