Americans are suing the government over injuries caused by vaccines and more are winning, but you'd never know it by looking at the statistics listed on the government's "vaccine court" website, says reporter Sharyl Attkisson, author of Stonewalled: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation, and Harassment in Obama's Washington.

Although the government normally updates the site and lists the latest statistics, in March the government wiped a year's worth of data from its public charts. The change erased a sharp increase in victories for plaintiffs who claimed serious injury or death by vaccines.

"Since January of 2014, twice as many victims have won court decisions than the previous eight years combined," Attkisson reported on her blog. "In these court decisions, a judge ruled the evidence showed vaccines 'more likely than not' caused the plaintiff’s injuries."
In addition, the number of vaccine injury cases the government has "conceded" is up 55 percent in about a year, says Attkisson.

The government began publishing the chart in 2013 and updated it monthly. But after publishing the updated numbers in March 2015, the government abruptly removed all data from 2014 and 2015, leaving only the old statistics in place which don't reflect the rising number of court cases won by plaintiffs.

By law, an American can't sue a pharmaceutical company for damages caused by vaccines. Congress gave them total immunity in 1986, and the law has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. But a special "vaccine court" makes it possible to seek damages by suing the government. Damages aren't paid by pharmaceutical companies, however, but by fees paid by patients figured into the cost of vaccines.

In December 2014, the government released a report covering the previous three months. It showed that 180 cases of vaccine injuries were decided. While the claims of 46 plaintiffs were denied, 134 received compensation.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which is a part of the Department of Health and Human Services, publishes the chart. HRSA says it didn't have any control over the change in data, and the change was made to synch with statistics published by the Centers for Disease Control, which only lists data through 2013.

The HRSA website says that a total of more than 15,976 claims have been filed in the vaccine court, and 14,025 of those claims have been adjudicated. A total of 4,121 plaintiffs received compensation while 9,904 cases were dismissed. The total compensation paid was approximately $3.1 billion.