N001564
Friday, January 11, 2002 9:20 PM
Victims Compensation Act
My name is . My husband, was a Firefighter at the
WTC on 9/11/01. I am 41 years old and now a widow. My children are ages 9,
7 and 3 and will never again be able to have the love and support of their
father. If it were not for my husband and his 342 other colleagues there
would have been many other lives lost and hence, many more claims to pay. I
do not understand how my husband's life and particularly his contribution to
the saving of lives is worth nothing to you. He did not have to be there.
He could have run the other way. Instead, he faced the danger and made the
ultimate sacrifice.
Why would the $250,000 award I received for a LINE OF
DUTY death be deducted from this award? By doing so, you are simply doing
away with that award, and thereby, not recognizing his sacrifice. Why would
you deduct a pension from this award? The only reason that I will be getting
a pension is because his death was in the line of duty. If he had passed
away at home, I would not receive a pension. This is simply a benefit
because his death was on-the-job. By making this deduction, you are saying
that he deserves no special financial accommodations just because his death
was caused by his occupation.
Why would you deduct life insurance? My
husband could have elected to accept the $8,500 life insurance policy that
the Fire Department provides. Instead, he opted to contribute to a special
life insurance policy ($150,000) each paycheck. First of all, this cost us
money, which I doubt you will reimburse us and secondly, why should my
husband be penalized for looking out for his family? How can you possibly
calculate future earnings? How do you know what increases they would have
received? How do you know how many promotions they may have received in the
future? How do you know upon retirement that they may not have obtained a
position that might have proven to be more financially lucrative?
To me,
this is not a matter of dollars and cents, but rather putting a different
price tag on each individual's life. That is the part that is most
unsettling to me. Why not just split the money evenly amongst all of those
who lost their spouse, etc.? To me that is the only fair and equitable way
to settle this matter. This way, NO ONE can claim any bias or favoritism.
If for some reason, this is not an acceptable option, then some reasonable
calculation method must be utilized. YOU MUST NOT LOOK TO SAVE MONEY AT THE
EXPENSE OF THOSE WHO SAVED SO MANY LIVES!!! To say our husband's lives are
worth less than a Stock Broker's or a Bus Boy's is an insult. Please
re-evaluate your current plans for the distribution of the funds to ensure an
equitable settlement for all.
Thank you for your consideration,
Individual Comment
Carmel, New York