National Public Radio (NPR)
SHOW: All Things Considered (9:00 PM ET) - NPR
July 25, 2002 Thursday
US federal government one step closer to cutting first checks to families of
those killed or injured on September 11th
REPORTERS: TOVIA SMITH
SUSAN STAMBERG, host:
The federal government is one step closer to cutting its first checks to families of those
killed and injured on September 11th. Officials sent out letters today telling families
how much they will get from the special Victims Compensation Fund. The fund was set
up after the attacks for families who agreed not to sue the airlines. Many families say
they are still not sure whether to go for the fund. Some say it just won't pay enough.
Others are rejecting the government's offer on principle. NPR's Tovia Smith reports.
TOVIA SMITH reporting:
The legislation passed by Congress setting up the Victims Compensation Fund is
basically an experiment. Never before has Congress struck such a potentially massive
deal, offering financial compensation to victims who would agree to waive their right to
seek damages in court. So far just about 600 families, less than one in five, have filed
applications. Many more are still wary.
Ms. CARRIE LEMACK (Founder, Families of September 11th): It's a gamble either way
because you just don't know how much you're going to get until you sign on the dotted
line and you wait.
SMITH: Carrie Lemack founded Families of September 11th after she lost her mother on
Flight 11. Financially, she says, she'd get very little from the fund. But, Lemack says,
more than she wants money, she wants answers. Like many families, she says, she will
sue if it's the only way to find out what really happened to her mother.
Ms. LEMACK: She got on that plane and I have no idea what happened to her, if she was
maced, if she was held at gunpoint. We just don't know. And the only way that we can
find out what really happened is through discovery, which comes in litigation. That's the
only way you're going to get some peace of mind.
SMITH: Earlier this month, however, the Justice Department won a legal battle that
could limit what families find out even if they do sue. A court gave the Justice
Department the OK to review and possibly withhold sensitive information. Mary
Schiavo, a former inspector general for the Department of Transportation, and now
attorney for the families of 36 victims, sees the government's move as a last-ditch effort
to push families to go for the fund rather than to court.
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The Victims Compensation Fund was passed by Congress as part of a $15 billion airline
bailout package that also limited airline liability. Schiavo says many of her clients are
determined to sue in order to hold airlines accountable.
Ms. MARY SCHIAVO (Attorney): They went to Congress on September 11th. Their
family members--as one of my clients aptly summed up, 'My family was still burning
and the airlines were at Congress trying to absolve themselves of liability.' That act alone
pushed that particular group of clients into seeking accountability.
SMITH: The special master appointed to oversee the fund, Ken Feinberg, says his main
hope is to return families, financially at least, to where they were on September 10th. He
says more than a thousand families are considering the fund, but because this is all so
unprecedented, he says, it's only human for families to be cautious.
Mr. KEN FEINBERG (Special Master, Victims Compensation Fund): I did think that
they would come in more rapidly, but I understand why they haven't. People are
understandably wary of how it will work. And I am not troubled by it. I'm confident
that by the end of the program there will be virtual 90 percent or better subscription to
the program.
SMITH: Ultimately, that will all depend on what happens with the first awards that
Feinberg is making now. He has said the average award will be about 1.2 or $1.3 million.
But Feinberg has huge discretion, and it's unclear, for example, how much he'll be
willing to offer families of those who were making more than a quarter of a million
dollars a year.
Justin Green is a lawyer with Kreindler & Kreindler, a New York law firm that represents
families of some 200 victims.
Mr. JUSTIN GREEN (Lawyer, Kreindler & Kreindler): Right now we're trusting Ken
Feinberg, and we're waiting with baited breath, along with our clients, to see whether
he's going to come through. The proof's kind of in the pudding.
SMITH: Another issue families are looking at is how generous Feinberg will be on
damages for pain and suffering. The special master has said he'll pay $250,000 per
victim and another 100,000 per dependent. That's much less than victims of other
airline disasters have won in court. One bill pending in Congress would give September
11th victims a minimum of a million dollars for pain and suffering. It would also change
the current rule that deducts money from those who had life insurance or private
pensions.
Charles Wolf(ph) is founder of a new group called Fix the Fund(ph). He lost his wife,
who worked on the 97th floor of Tower One.
Mr. CHARLES WOLF (Founder, Fix the Fund): If there was ever a wrongful death, I
think that we're looking at one here. So to treat us less fairly than someone else who had
an opportunity to go to court for an injury is not right.
SMITH: Even some of the strongest advocates of the compensation fund agree that
some changes might be in order. But overall, Leo Boyle, president of the American Trial
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Lawyers Association, says the fund is still a better option than taking a chance on a long
legal battle.
Mr. LEO BOYLE (President, American Trial Lawyers Association): Let's say you think
you could have gotten $9 million if you went to court. Well, $9 million, if your lawyer
charged you a third, you're down to 6. And if you're going to get that money in year
eight, you've lost probably 150 percent of the value of the money. So from 6 you're down
to 2 1/2 or 3. So, again, I believe that these numbers easily rival what could happen in
court.
SMITH: For many families whether to go to court or go with the fund may well come
down to how long they can wait. Jenna Jacobs(ph) lost her husband, Ari(ph), on
September 11th. She delivered their first child on September 17th. Now she's struggling
to keep up with the mortgage on their new home, and she says she'd settle for less
money just to be able to move on.
Ms. JENNA JACOBS: I'm unable to make decisions right now, so if the money isn't
enough that I can keep my house, I've just spent a year depleting my savings. So the
sooner I can find out, the better position I will be in, regardless of how much money it is.
SMITH: Jacobs says she's hopeful she'll get enough money to realize some of her
husband's dreams for their son. But it's nerve-racking, she says, knowing that one
person has so much control over her fate, especially since a sense of control was another
thing so many families suddenly lost on September 11th. Tovia Smith, NPR News.
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