N002596
REGARDING PROPOSED COMPENSATION FUND
-WTC Victims' Daughter
To: Kenneth Zweck
Hi, my name is (age: 23) and I am a family member of one of the victims
of the
World Trade Center Tragedy. My father, , was a for
on
the floor of the first hit tower. He leaves behind four children and a spouse.
My purpose in writing this letter is to strongly state my frustration and anger regarding
the
proposed Compensation Fund proposed by Kenneth Feinberg and to seek representation for
families in
our situation. Since the events of Sept. 11th, it has been my family's unfortunate circumstance to
be at a
disadvantage when decisions are made regarding how much financial assistance our family
should
receive. The problem at hand is as follows: My fathers age (56) and low income status. While
this may
seem like it is not a problem, it has been turned into one. You see, because my father is older and
makes
less than "the average" individual that passed away, we have been placed into a formula that
shows that
we should receive 1/3rd of what, "on average", other families receive. This situation has been a
constant
obstacle since the events of September 11th. It began with the Red Cross and continued through
to
Feinbergs' proposed compensation fund.
In proposing the fund, Feinberg states that he "will not play Solomon" in deciding the
amounts
that families should receive in regards to pain and suffering. What he fails to recognize is that
that is
exactly what he has done; however, in a different context. He does so in a context that poses
advantages to
the wealthier and younger individuals and neglects the fact that the older lower income
employees died
the same way. He gives consistent reference to his attempts to decrease the disparity of the fund
when it
comes to the income of the employee, but lower and older income families (again, both
characteristic of
my father) see NOTHING BUT DISPARITY. Everyone keeps talking about "United We Stand"
and
"equality" since Sept. 11th, but situations like this make me feel that there is none of that. If that
in fact
did exist, this problem wouldn't exist. As an article once read, " If a kid is thirsty, you give him a
glass of
water...you do not ask if he is a rich kid or a poor kid"!
This fund places families at the lower end of the spectrum in situation where they feel
compelled to accept whatever is given through the fund. What I mean by this is, take my mom
for
example, she is 47 years old and basically with no option but to accept the fund because a lawsuit
would
take 10-15 years to come to a conclusion, if not more. Assuming she did win a lawsuit, what is
any
financial compensation to her when she is on her 60's? Money means nothing to her at that age.
At the
same time a lawsuit would mean many years of financial struggle because we are of lower
income. I feel
that when this fund was being thought out, these stipulations were known and taken advantage of
and so
the result of it was offering less to families who would have almost no choice but to accept the
fund. I fail
to mention that it is almost ridiculous that IF my mom choices to accept this fund, she signs away
her
rights to sue with an "estimated assumption" of the total she will get from it. So, she won't even
know
exactly how much she is getting. Sadly enough, I am sure that there are lower income families
who have
seen this $1.6 million average publicized and have signed away to this fund under the sad
assumption that
that is what they will receive only to find out later that it is not. Later...and too late when they
cannot
change there minds or sue!
Since Sept. 11th occurred and different funds were set up, lower income families have
had no real
direct voice or representation on their behalf. Many do not have the education or knowledge to
know
where to go, many do not speak English. Navigating the system is difficult! I myself have sent
letters only
to receive no response! We have no means to determining a good lawyer from a bad one and no
direction
as to where to go and vent our frustration. This is a problem. As I write this, I have been told that
revisions are being made to the proposed fund. However again, the voices of those being heard
when these
revisions are being taken into consideration are the voices of the higher income families. It is
those voices,
of the families that possibly received between $150,000 - $350,000 of life insurance, that are
listened to
because those families do not want their life insurance deducted from the fund (another item of
the fund
which I disagree with). However, the cries of those who received little or no insurance go
unheard.
This can be because they are unspoken, again, as many families do not know where to go and
state their
frustration in these scenarios.
My father had a life and a horrific tragic unimaginable death in the face of those terrorist
attacks. He worked employees that made possibly 3 times the
amount
that he did. Should that even matter? Either way you look at it, while we all have differences in
our
lifestyles, we are all one in life and death. Why should my mother receive 1/3rd of "the average".
It is a
ridiculous and insulting concept to even set forth when considering what happened to each one of
those
individuals that passed away. This fund has been handled as if it were a lawsuit, taking lost
wages and
potential earning power into consideration. This is not a lawsuit nor is it a normal lawsuit
scenario so my
mind goes blank in wondering why it continues to be handled as one. To the best of my
knowledge, the
main purpose of the fund, contrary to what feinberg states is to attract the families so that the
issues of
security negligence (to name one) are not taken to court and jeopardizing the airline industry.
Instead it
does the opposite, angers and insults the families making them want to sign lawsuit papers even
faster.
I also find it insulting that it mentions the deduction of pensions, life insurance, and
workmans'
death benefits from the fund. My father worked 30 years of this hard life in the
restaurant in order to receive petty $107 monthly estimate that will go to my mom. Again, 30
YEARS!!!
Why should the concept of having what he worked hard for be taken from our potential benefit
through
this fund, despite how minimal or great the amount may be.
Overall, I would like you to consider this; The higher income, more prestigious wealthier
families affected by 9/11 are upset at what the fund offers them in light of the family member
they lost. If
they are complaining, just imagine how we feel being in this situation of constant neglect from
organizations such as Red Cross and by this fund.
In writing this, again, I hope to reach out and find representation for families in this
situation
such as ours. My anger is strong but yet I fell defenseless and at a dead end when it comes to
seeking
assistance in stating my views and concerns and making them known. Any assistance or advice
you can
offer me would be greatly appreciated. I will desperately await a response from you in regards to
this
crucial matter. I can be reached at the above address or at . Your time is greatly
appreciated but more importantly, your help is greatly needed.
Thank You and Regards.
Individual Comment
Bronx, NY