No-Fault Compensation
Concept and Rationale
No-fault compensation is a legal mechanism that provides relief to injured parties without requiring them to prove negligence or fault on the part of the responsible actor. The plaintiff need only establish that harm occurred and that it falls within the scope of the scheme.
- No-fault compensation exists in Indian law in the context of motor vehicle accidents (Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Section 163A provides structured compensation without proof of negligence).
- International vaccine compensation programmes operate on the no-fault principle: the US National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (1986) created the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Programme (VICP); the UK's Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme; and similar mechanisms in Australia, Japan, Germany, and Canada.
- The rationale: vaccination programmes generate a collective benefit (herd immunity) while imposing a rare individual risk. The State, which mandates or strongly promotes vaccination, is ethically obligated to socialise the cost of rare adverse outcomes.
- A no-fault framework also serves a public health purpose — it builds vaccine confidence by demonstrating that the State will not abandon those who suffer harm.
● Tracked since March 10, 2026 · last seen April 16, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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