I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4096 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to extend the deadlines applicable 
to filing petitions for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury 
Compensation Program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 17, 2009 
Mr. PERRIELLO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to extend the dead-
lines applicable to filing petitions for compensation under 
the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Vaccine In-
jury Compensation Program Modernization Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF FILING DEADLINE. 
(a) GENERAL RULE.—Section 2116(a) of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300aa–16(a)) is amend-
ed— 
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(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘36 months’’ 
and inserting ‘‘6 years (excluding any period during 
which the person who suffered the injury has not yet 
attained 18 years of age)’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (3)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘24 months’’ and inserting 
‘‘6 years’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘48 months’’ and inserting 
‘‘6 years’’; and 
(3) in paragraphs (2) and (3), by striking ‘‘the 
first symptom or manifestation of onset or of the 
significant aggravation’’ each place it appears and 
inserting ‘‘the first symptom, manifestation, or diag-
nosis, whichever is later, of onset or of the signifi-
cant aggravation’’. 
(b) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS.—Section 2116(a) of 
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300aa–16(a)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL EXTENSION.— 
‘‘(1) MINIMUM PERIOD.—If an injury or death 
occurs as a result of a vaccine set forth in the Vac-
cine Injury Table which is administered after Sep-
tember 30, 1988, and before the date of the enact-
ment of this subsection, the end of the limitation pe-
riod applicable under paragraph (2) or (3) of sub-
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section (a) for filing a petition for compensation 
under the Program for such injury or death, not-
withstanding the provisions of such paragraphs, 
shall be not earlier than 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of this subsection. 
‘‘(2) EFFECT OF PREVIOUS DISMISSAL.—Not-
withstanding section 2111(b)(2), if a petition is filed 
within the limitation period applicable under para-
graph (1), the petition may not be dismissed on the 
basis of a previous dismissal for untimely filing. 
‘‘(e) DISCOVERY RULE.—The limitation period appli-
cable under paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (a) shall 
not begin to run until the person who suffered a vaccine- 
related injury or death (or the legal representative thereof) 
first knew or should have reasonably known that the per-
son may have experienced a vaccine-related injury or 
death.’’. 
Æ 
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