If my description of the mechanics of the Program, and of its underlying Table, is itself mechanical and a bit dry, the same cannot be said of the Program's hearing process. Its adversarial nature is ensured by the participation of lawyers and the special master. What should be a quiet, civil, deliberative discussion of facts and medicine too frequently degenerates into a contentious, vituperative, decibel-escalating exchange. Ad hominem attacks on physicians by petitioners' attorneys are common. With accumulated experience, however, the special masters appear better able to readily identify such witnesses, crediting their testimony with the weight it deserves.
Perception is a powerful thing.
In 1977, the British Broadcasting Company televised a documentary that warned parents of the potential dangers of the pertussis vaccine. During that same period, in a population roughly a quarter of the United States, the number of deaths from pertussis, or whooping cough, was quadruple our own. All too quickly, the perception of risk, which motivated so many parents to withhold immunizations, was replaced by grief. The parents who petition the Program have their own perspectives and perceptions. Often their children have serious chronic neurologic disabilities, and they grieve for lost hopes and dreams.