This is what the government website tells us:

The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program is a no-fault alternative to the traditional legal system for resolving vaccine injury petitions.

It was created in the 1980s, after lawsuits against vaccine companies and health care providers threatened to cause vaccine shortages and reduce U.S. vaccination rates, which would have caused a resurgence of vaccine preventable diseases.

Any individual, of any age, who received a covered vaccine and believes he or she was injured as a result, can file a petition. Parents, legal guardians and legal representatives can file on behalf of children, disabled adults, and individuals who are deceased.

A cursory glance at this may lead one to believe that this program is a reasonable under the circumstances. A more thoughtful analysis, however, can lead to the conclusion that this program may be the greatest coup in the history of the world in favor of business interests over human well-being.