
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC300aa-13]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
                    CHAPTER 6A--PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE
 
                        SUBCHAPTER XIX--VACCINES
 
          Part 2--National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program
 
                     subpart a--program requirements
 
Sec. 300aa-13. Determination of eligibility and compensation


(a) General rule

    (1) Compensation shall be awarded under the Program to a petitioner 
if the special master or court finds on the record as a whole--
        (A) that the petitioner has demonstrated by a preponderance of 
    the evidence the matters required in the petition by section 300aa-
    11(c)(1) of this title, and
        (B) that there is not a preponderance of the evidence that the 
    illness, disability, injury, condition, or death described in the 
    petition is due to factors unrelated to the administration of the 
    vaccine described in the petition.

The special master or court may not make such a finding based on the 
claims of a petitioner alone, unsubstantiated by medical records or by 
medical opinion.
    (2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the term ``factors unrelated to 
the administration of the vaccine''--
        (A) does not include any idiopathic, unexplained, unknown, 
    hypothetical, or undocumentable cause, factor, injury, illness, or 
    condition, and
        (B) may, as documented by the petitioner's evidence or other 
    material in the record, include infection, toxins, trauma (including 
    birth trauma and related anoxia), or metabolic disturbances which 
    have no known relation to the vaccine involved, but which in the 
    particular case are shown to have been the agent or agents 
    principally responsible for causing the petitioner's illness, 
    disability, injury, condition, or death.

(b) Matters to be considered

    (1) In determining whether to award compensation to a petitioner 
under the Program, the special master or court shall consider, in 
addition to all other relevant medical and scientific evidence contained 
in the record--
        (A) any diagnosis, conclusion, medical judgment, or autopsy or 
    coroner's report which is contained in the record regarding the 
    nature, causation, and aggravation of the petitioner's illness, 
    disability, injury, condition, or death, and
        (B) the results of any diagnostic or evaluative test which are 
    contained in the record and the summaries and conclusions.

Any such diagnosis, conclusion, judgment, test result, report, or 
summary shall not be binding on the special master or court. In 
evaluating the weight to be afforded to any such diagnosis, conclusion, 
judgment, test result, report, or summary, the special master or court 
shall consider the entire record and the course of the injury, 
disability, illness, or condition until the date of the judgment of the 
special master or court.
    (2) The special master or court may find the first symptom or 
manifestation of onset or significant aggravation of an injury, 
disability, illness, condition, or death described in a petition 
occurred within the time period described in the Vaccine Injury Table 
even though the occurrence of such symptom or manifestation was not 
recorded or was incorrectly recorded as having occurred outside such 
period. Such a finding may be made only upon demonstration by a 
preponderance of the evidence that the onset or significant aggravation 
of the injury, disability, illness, condition, or death described in the 
petition did in fact occur within the time period described in the 
Vaccine Injury Table.

(c) ``Record'' defined

    For purposes of this section, the term ``record'' means the record 
established by the special masters of the United States Court of Federal 
Claims in a proceeding on a petition filed under section 300aa-11 of 
this title.

(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title XXI, Sec. 2113, as added Pub. L. 99-660, 
title III, Sec. 311(a), Nov. 14, 1986, 100 Stat. 3763; amended Pub. L. 
100-203, title IV, Sec. 4307(4), Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1330-224; Pub. 
L. 101-239, title VI, Sec. 6601(j), Dec. 19, 1989, 103 Stat. 2290; Pub. 
L. 101-502, Sec. 5(c), Nov. 3, 1990, 104 Stat. 1287; Pub. L. 102-572, 
title IX, Sec. 902(b)(1), Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4516.)


                            Prior Provisions

    A prior section 300aa-13, act July 1, 1944, Sec. 2114, was 
successively renumbered by subsequent acts and transferred, see section 
238k of this title.
    A prior section 2113 of act July 1, 1944, was successively 
renumbered by subsequent acts and transferred, see section 238j of this 
title.


                               Amendments

    1992--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102-572 substituted ``United States Court 
of Federal Claims'' for ``United States Claims Court''.
    1990--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101-502 inserted ``the'' after ``special 
masters of''.
    1989--Subsecs. (a)(1), (b). Pub. L. 101-239, Sec. 6601(j)(1), 
substituted ``special master or court'' for ``court'' wherever 
appearing.
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101-239, Sec. 6601(j)(2), inserted ``special 
masters of'' after ``established by the''.
    1987--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100-203 substituted ``the United States 
Claims Court'' for ``a district court of the United States''.


                    Effective Date of 1992 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 102-572 effective Oct. 29, 1992, see section 
911 of Pub. L. 102-572, set out as a note under section 171 of Title 28, 
Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.


                    Effective Date of 1990 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 101-502 effective Sept. 30, 1990, see section 
5(h) of Pub. L. 101-502, set out as a note under section 300aa-11 of 
this title.


                    Effective Date of 1989 Amendment

    For applicability of amendments by Pub. L. 101-239 to petitions 
filed after Dec. 19, 1989, petitions currently pending in which the 
evidentiary record is closed, and petitions currently pending in which 
the evidentiary record is not closed, with provision for an immediate 
suspension for 30 days of all pending cases, see section 6601(s)(1) of 
Pub. L. 101-239, set out as a note under section 300aa-10 of this title.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 300aa-12 of this title.
