N001533
Sunday, January 13, 2002 8:43 PM
Comments on the Interum Rule of the September 11th Victim
Compensation Fund of 2001
January 12, 2002
To:
Mr. Kenneth Feinberg
Re: Comments on the Interim Rule of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001
Dear Mr. Feinberg,
I am writing to ask for your help to correct the inequities contained in the Department of Justice's
interim final rule for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. The pain my family has
experienced in this tragedy is difficult to communicate. The loss of my husband is devastating. I would
exchange all compensation to bring back. The interim final rule increases the already intense pain to
an even higher level. I ask you to help bring some fairness and balance to our lives. Please give me a
reason to participate in the Fund. Please adjust the interim final rule to provide economic and noneconomic
amounts at fair, balanced and acceptable levels. Please establish a fair appeal process. Please preserve
worker's compensation payments for surviving victims. Finally, please include the specific calculation
formulas, statistics and assumptions within the rule or the explanatory materials.
The Interim Final Rule provides little incentive to participate in the Fund because it seriously
understates our losses and undervalues the compensation for those losses. Consequently, the Interim Final
Rule will defeat the intent of Public Law 107-42.
When Congress passed the Air Transportation Safety And System Stabilization Act on September
22, 2001, it severely restricted our right to sue the airlines, which bear responsibility for our loved one's
deaths because of lax security procedures. In exchange for denying Family Members this right, they
provided the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. The Fund is supposed to compensate the
victims' families for the types of losses that would have been recoverable in a lawsuit. This includes
economic losses, such as lost income, and non-economic losses.
Non economic losses described in the law are very broad and inclusive. They are described as
losses for: physical and emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment,
mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of society and
companionship, loss of consortium, hedonic damages, injury to reputation, and all other
nonpecuniary losses of any kind or nature. The Interim Rule/Regulation also describes the
intention of the law:
"The Fund is designed to provide a no-fault alternative to tort litigation for individuals
who were physically injured or killed as a result of the aircraft hijackings and crashes on
September 11, 2001" {Interim Rule/Regulation, Summary Paragraph A.1.}.
"The attached regulations have two objectives: (1) To provide fair, predictable and
consistent compensation to the victims of September 11 and their families throughout the
life of the program; and (2) to do so in an expedited, efficient manner without
unnecessary bureaucracy and needless demands on the victims." {Interim
Rule/Regulation, Supplementary Information.}.
The Interim Final Rule issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) falls far short of these stated
goals and does not comply with the statute passed by Congress.:
a) Under the Interim Final Rule, my family would receive only one-tenth the
amount of non-economic losses recovered in other air crash and terrorism cases, which
commonly result in awards of between $2 million and $5 million.
The Interim Final Rule understates economic losses in two ways: It caps the salaries of
high-income victims and underestimates the lifetime earning potential of victims at all
income levels. Noted economists at the National Association of Forensic Economists
showed that the interim final rule uses outdated statistics and inappropriate methods to
arrive at low estimates of our loved one's future earnings. An analysis done by one of
these economists showed that the actual earnings growth for firefighters is 27% higher
than the DOJ estimate, the actual earnings growth of all college educated workers is 30%
higher than DOJ indicates, and actual earnings growth for financial professionals is more
than 100% higher than the DOJ estimate.
Because the initial award amounts are so low, many families will receive little compensation from
the Fund after the collateral payment deductions have been subtracted. There will be little reason to
participate.
To compound the unfairness, my family would have little real opportunity to appeal the
determination of the Fund Master. A family's award may be increased above the "presumptive" award only
by showing "extraordinary circumstances" beyond those suffered by other victims or victims' families.
This makes the hearing or appeal to the Special Master extremely arbitrary, unclear and unfair.
In addition the proposed compensation to the spouses, children and other innocent victims of the
attacks is out of balance when compared to the generous compensation to the airlines. Not only did the law
cap the airlines' liability at the limits of their insurance (which saves the airlines billions of dollars), but it
also provides for direct cash payments and loan guarantees to the airlines totaling $15 billion. The
underpayments to the spouses, children and other loved ones suffering from this attack will shift the cost of
these airline subsidies and liability limits to the innocent victims of the attacks.
Please correct the inequity. Please give me a reason to participate in the Fund. Please adjust the
interim final rule to provide economic and noneconomic amounts at fair, balanced and acceptable levels.
Please establish a fair appeal process. Please preserve worker's compensation payments for surviving
victims. Finally, please include the specific calculation formulas, statistics and assumptions within the rule
or the explanatory materials.
Sincerely,
Individual Comment