N001765
Tuesday, January 15, 2002 10:38 PM
Offsets, Caps, and eligibility
To The Special Master,
Offsets: Life insurances and pensions would not be deducted from compensation if the victims were to exercise their right to sue in a court of law. By capping the amount of liability (1.5 Billion per plane crash) our lawmakers infringed on the victim's survivors basic freedom to seek redress in a court of law and by doing so made it impractical to pursue this path. Therefore, these should offsets should be eliminated or modified greatly so that much higher awards are granted.
Cap on pain & suffering: This is the greatest indignity of all is placing a very low figure on pain and loss. This is insensitive in the utmost degree. While realistically it is understandable that a figure must be established capping, this most private grief and suffering, at the paltry sum of $250,000, demeans the life of each individual who perished at Ground Zero. Again in a court of law, where no caps would have been imposed, compensation for pain and loss would have been many times greater.
Eligibility: My son was engaged to a lovely young woman, , and they were to married on November 16th 2001. Her deep grief and anguish is as excruciating as our family's. Her whole world was destroyed and all her future plans for a happy life with were ruined permanently by the tragic events of 9-11. Who compensates her for her pain and loss?. Why isn't she eligible under Public Law 107-42?. Likewise domestic partners who lost their beloved mates. Why aren't they eligible?. I recommend that the Special Master ponder this question deeply, because if they are made ineligible the spirit of the law to compensate those affected by this horrible, evil attack is compromised.
Our lawmakers bailed out the Airline Industry to the tune of $15 billion and by taking this action probably bolstered our economy. This was the right thing to do. Next they capped the Airlines at $6 billion. This action is questionable, as the Airlines will probably recover within the next few years. and may have been able to compensate survivors beyond this amount. Public 107-42 was probably enacted to compensate survivors for the disparities created by capping the Airlines liability but falls short of it's goal.
It is time to modify the rules and regulations to correct the inequities outlined above.
Individual Comment