VACCINE DAMAGE PAYMENTS

What is it?

People who are severely disabled due to a vaccination against specific diseases may receive a one-off Vaccine Damage Payment of £120,000.

Basic qualifying conditions

To qualify for a Vaccine Damage Payment, the customer must be at least 60% mentally or physically disabled due to a vaccination against :

• diptheria
• tetanus
• pertussis (whooping cough)
• poliomyelitis
• measles
• rubella (German measles)
• mumps
• tuberculosis
• meningococcal Group C (meningitis C)
• haemophilus influenzae type B (hib)
• pneumococcal infection
• human papillomavirus
• pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 (swine Flu) (vaccination up to 31/08/2010); or
• smallpox (vaccination up to August 1971)

Claims can also be made on the basis of -

• combination vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) and for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR);
• close personal contact with a person who has been vaccinated against oral poliomyelitis;
• the mother was vaccinated during pregnancy against one of the above diseases.

The disabled person must also satisfy these conditions -

• be two years old or more on the date of the claim
• have been vaccinated in the Isle of Man or the UK, unless they or someone in their family was in the armed forces and vaccinated as part of the armed services medical facilities.
• vaccination must have been administered before the person's 18th birthday, unless it was against poliomyelitis, rubella (German measles), or meningococcal Group C, human papilloma virus or pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 (swine Flu); or during an outbreak of disease in the UK or the Isle of Man.

How much could I get and how am I paid

The scheme provides a tax-free lump sum of £120,000.

Payments are made to a trustee if the disabled person is -

• under age 18; or
• unable to manage their own affairs.

If the disabled person lives with the family the parents may be appointed trustees.

Effect on other benefits

Your Vaccine Damage Payment can affect other benefits. The effect the payment will have depends on a number of things, including whether the payment is put into a trust and payments made from that trust. You should let your local Social Security office know if a Vaccine Damage Payment has been awarded.

How and when should I apply?

The claim must be made at any time before the customer's 21st birthday, or, if they have died, the date on which they would have attained that age, or up to 6 years after the date of the vaccination; whichever date is later.

To request a Vaccine Damage Payment claim form, write to :

You can call the Vaccine Damage Payments Unit on :

• 01772 899944 (telephone)
• 0845 60 45 312 (textphone)

Downloadable Documents
Section 1 - Benefits Information Guide (78 kb) Format:Acrobat PDF File This is an excerpt from our guide which outlines the benefits available to the sick and disabled.

You will need Adobe Acrobat to download documents that are PDFs, this is available free by following this link:

Terms & Conditions

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