Final Rules on Sept. 11 Fund Give Families More Money

They did not get all they wanted, but after two months of politicking and pleading with a federal special master, the families of the Sept. 11 dead will get more money from a federal Victims’ Compensation Fund than originally proposed.

Kenneth Feinberg, the fund’s special master, announced Thursday the final rules that will govern how much relatives will receive to compensate for economic loss and pain and suffering caused by the multiple terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 that killed 3,062 people and injured about 400.

Overall, the new rules will increase by $200,000 the average award from $1.65 million to $1.85 million--before deductions. And there will be far fewer deductions, which had caused great concern.

Feinberg conceded that he made many changes in response to a firestorm of criticism by relatives and their advocates. Over the last weeks, he met with family groups, members of Congress, trial lawyers and others who had problems with the draft version of the rules.

“I may not agree with every criticism,” he said. “But I wanted today to assure the families and others . . . that the suggestions have not fallen on deaf ears.”

One of the most contentious elements of the proposed plan was a $250,000 payment to each family for noneconomic damages. Families were outraged that this “pain and suffering” award was so low. But Feinberg did not raise it, although he did raise the amount paid out to each surviving spouse and each child from $50,000 to $100,000.

Stephen Push, a spokesman for a group of about 500 families and one of the most vocal critics of the original rules, was disappointed Thursday by Feinberg’s “few concessions.”

Feinberg was appointed by Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft, and Push insisted that by not raising the $250,000 noneconomic payment, Feinberg was revealing the government’s ultimate agenda: “The Bush administration wanted to set a precedent for tort reform that reduces the value of human life. And they did it. Boy, did they do it.”

There was also disappointment that many domestic partners of victims will still not be eligible to benefit from the fund. Congress mandated that the fund rules adhere to state laws, and many states, such as New York, do not recognize these relationships.

But other advocates for the families saw a great improvement in the rules and an effort on Feinberg’s part to do right by the families.

“There are some other things [Feinberg] could have done that would have been better,” said Larry Stewart, president of Trial Lawyers Care, a group offering free legal advice to families. “But this is progress. I think it will result in more people getting more. Feinberg was very motivated to do the very best he could for the victims’ families.”

Families of high-income earners, firefighters and rescue workers had been worried that they would get nothing after death benefits, such as workers’ compensation and Social Security, were subtracted from their claims.

Ultimately, Feinberg said, he decided to eliminate nearly all of the deductions from claims. But he couldn’t drop life insurance payouts and some pension benefits because that was required in the congressional statute that created the fund 11 days after the terrorist attacks.

“There’s nothing we can do about that,” Feinberg told reporters Thursday. “Congress has spoken.”

The fund, which promised money to those injured or to relatives of anyone killed, was approved as part of a $15-billion airline bailout. In return, recipients waived their right to sue.

Among the changes from the proposed rules:

* The deadline for civilians to report injuries to police or medical officials was increased from 24 to 72 hours from the time of the attack, and even longer for some rescue workers on a case-by-case basis. Their compensation will be determined by the nature and extent of their injuries.

* Special protections were added for families of illegal immigrants who come forward, Feinberg said, adding that they would not face prosecution.

* Now families can come into the seven processing centers in cities along the East Coast and go over their particular cases with a trained advisor to get “a good ballpark estimate,” as Feinberg put it, of their claim before they decide to give up their right to sue.

* Feinberg eliminated the two-hour limit on hearings by claimants who want to bring their case to the special master. They can now take as long as they want.

* The new rules also explicitly say there are no caps on the awards. Feinberg has said each family will get at least $250,000.

Feinberg said Thursday he still believes the ultimate cost to taxpayers of the fund will be about $6 billion--the same as his original estimate. He figured that, even though each person filing a claim would get substantially more money, the ultimate number of victims--living and dead--has decreased dramatically since the first estimate was made.

The question that now looms is how many people will go for the fund rather than file civil court claims.

As of Wednesday, an estimated 366 people have agreed to take part in the program, a Justice Department spokesman said.

Larry Stewart and other trial attorneys have been predicting that most people would have to seek assistance through the fund because of liability caps protecting the airlines from litigation.

Not surprisingly, Feinberg argued Thursday that the fund is superior to litigation because victims cannot be guaranteed that they will get any money at all through the courts and because the $6-billion cap on airline liabilities can be split among a wide variety of claims, including bankrupted businesses and damaged buildings, particularly in New York. It could leave little for the victims.

“Tomorrow morning, I hope the families rush into the centers and begin processing their claims,” Feinberg said. “I believe the program is much better because of their input.”

His biggest concern, Feinberg said, is that there are potentially hundreds of people who were so traumatized by the terrorist attacks that they don’t even know that the fund exists or that they are eligible.

“We must reach these people,” Feinberg said.

To do so, Justice Department officials and others will mount a campaign to notify potential victims and their families through newspaper and Internet advertisements and other means.

Feinberg criticized those who have labeled the families as “greedy” for seeking the funds:

“As I’ve said repeatedly, I think that criticism is definitely unwarranted. I do not believe it has anything to do with personal greed. I believe it has everything to do with valuing a lost loved one.”

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