Current News |
Lawyer Who Directed Sept. 11
Compensation to Oversee Virginia Tech Program
By IAN URBINA
Published: July 5, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/05/us/06cnd-tech.html
Kenneth R. Feinberg, the Washington lawyer who
directed the federal program to compensate relatives
of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, will
oversee the distribution of the $7 million that has
been donated to Virginia Tech after the April campus
massacre, university officials said Thursday.
“There is no script for a tragedy of this magnitude
and depth of pain,” the university’s president,
Charles Steger, said. “I am very pleased to have
someone of Ken Feinberg’s caliber, experience and
long career to help guide us.”
In November 2001, Mr. Feinberg was appointed special
master of the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund by
then-Attorney General John Ashcroft. A former chief
of staff for Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Mr. Feinberg
has extensive experience in mediating complicated
compensation disputes, including those that arose
over the Agent Orange defoliant used in the Vietnam
War and the Dalkon Shield birth control device.
While Mr. Feinberg’s job will involve the difficult
responsibility of assigning monetary values to human
lives, he said his current task would be much
smaller and less complicated than his work on the
Sept. 11 case.
“In some ways, this is familiar territory,” said Mr.
Feinberg, who is not being paid for the job. “I will
still be dealing with grieving families. I will
still be meeting with physically and mentally
wounded victims who were shot or who jumped from
windows. In that sense, I must say, this assignment
is very similar to what I did before.”
For the Sept. 11 victims’ families, he directed an
overall payout of more than $7 billion in public
money, including 2,675 valid injury claims at an
average of about $400,000 per payout, and an average
payout of about $1.8 million for death claims. All
recipients waived their right to sue the airlines
and corporations.
In this case, he will handle $7 million in private
money on behalf of victims who will not be required
to relinquish their right to sue to qualify for
money.
Mr. Feinberg said he will begin talking to families
immediately.
Mr. Feinberg said he plans to disseminate a set of
proposals about distributions to the families in
mid-July. He will establish criteria for eligibility
by the end of the month and he plans to finish
distributing money before Thanksgiving, he said.
There are already three general categories of people
who art likely to be eligible, including the
families of the 32 who were killed, about 30 people
who were injured during the incident and an untold
number of people who sustained psychological harm
because of the massacre, he said.
Victims may also be eligible for money through a
state compensation fund for victims of violent
crime, university officials said. Mr. Feinberg said
that such state funds typically pay between $2,500
and $5,000.
Larry Hincker, a university spokesman, said that no
lawsuits have been filed against the university
related to the massacre.
In the wake of the April 16 shootings at Tech, the
school has received more than $7 million in
unsolicited donations from around the world. The
school has used the money to establish the Hokie
Spirit Memorial Fund, which was placed under the
control of the nonprofit Virginia Tech Foundation.
Approximately $1 million of the total donations have
been designated by donors toward specific uses,
leaving the balance for general use, including
distributions.
The Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund will be closed for
donations Aug. 1, university officials said.
Any money given after the closing date will be
directed to the Hokie Spirit Scholarship Fund, a
general scholarship fund for Virginia Tech students
and could be used for others involved in the
tragedy. |
|
|