N001912
Wednesday, January 16, 2002 8:34 PM
Comments on WTC Victims Compensation
I am the mother of a fallen Firefighter who remains
missing to this date at the WTC..
I would like to tell you how patently unfair the present Victims'
Compensation Regulations are in general, and in my case, it is specifically
unfair to members of the uniformed services such as my son.
It is an insult to limit to $250,000 non-economic loss. The loss
of my son, and my pain and suffering is incalculable, and a limit of this
amount is truly insulting.
Your method of calculating "worth" by averaging the last three
years income is also patently unfair for my son's case because he spent the
previous five years of his life IN SERVICE TO THIS COUNTRY IN THE US MARINE
CORPS, earning, as you may be aware, below poverty level wages for his
loyalty and service to this country.
In addition, he was earning an extremely low salary with the
FDNY, , and was definitely not getting a
salary that was commeasurate with Firefighters' salaries across the USA.
Another extremely unfair aspect of your "Regulations" is the
deductions of insurance, awards, pensions and other "collateral sources."
This is unfair for the following reasons:
The Federal Award for losing your life in the line of duty was
never meant to replace any other source of reimbursement. This is something
that our society gives to its public servants, and they should NOT be
penalized for being a public servant.
If you are responsible enough to buy and pay for life
insurance, you should not be discriminated against.
If a Police or Fire officer dies in the line of duty, society
gives them a hero's award of a pension for their family for life. You have
no right to once again penalize the person for being a hero. It is patently
unfair to deduct a hero's pension from the settlement.
Why is my son's life worth 50% less because he is single? Why
is my son's life worth less because he was a responsible person and did not
have any children? His worth is incalculable to me! His loss is
irreplaceable .
According to your guidelines you are penalized for being
responsible, for giving loyalty and service to your country, for being a
public servant, and for being a middle class American.
You are insulting and discriminating against The Firefighters,
Police and EMS workers. In addition, your settlement terms are equally
unfair to the civilians.
It is an American disgrace that the Airlines are protected,
Larry Silverstein Properties are protected, the Port Authority is protected,
but the only ones who are NOT PROTECTED ARE THE 3,000 victims of the World
Trade Center Disaster!
Please change these guidelines Immediately.
Individual Comment
Bronx, NY