N002117
Sunday, January 20, 2002 1:34 PM
Comments
On September 11, I watched in complete horror from my mid-town
Manhattan office as the Twin Towers collapsed. At that moment, I knew in my
heart that a dear friend that was at work was dying. His wife and two
children are now left without a husband and father. The horror that was
that moment lives on every day for this family. All Americans were hurt in
some way by 9/11; but the pain, loss and continued suffering of the families
that lost loved ones go light years beyond anything anyone else feels or can
even comprehend.
Unfortunately, our government is not helping to alleviate this
situation. Under the present proposal for the victims compensation fund, my
friend's family (and hundreds of others) will be receiving little, if any,
compensation for their loss. There are several problems with the present
proposal: (i) non-economic damages (or pain & suffering) are equal to
$250,000 for the decedent and $50,000 for each surviving person; (ii)
economic calculations are based upon National statistics and not NY earnings
statistics for potential loss of earnings (even the Federal Government pays
employees more that work in the NY area); and (iii) the application of
collateral offsets.
These issues should not be considered in a vacuum, as many appear to
be doing. The intent of this proposal is clear -- avoidance of protracted
litigation and limitation of economic harm to the airline industry. These
are noble goals. However, if this were any other airline disaster,
recoveries could be much higher that the current proposal. Indeed,
recoveries could be as much as $2 million or more. And, such recoveries
would be based upon actual earnings and not subject to an arbitrary cap.
Moreover, recoveries would not be reduced merely because the victim had the
good sense to pay for life insurance and save for retirement.
Money will not bring back lives; it is not meant to. What it can do
is fairly compensate families for the loss of their loved one. There are
many people and organizations that bear some responsibility for the events
of 9/11 -- for instance, the airlines and airports who were unprepared to
protect their passengers and the Port Authority of NY and NJ that told
people not to evacuate and remain at their desks. These entities are
benefiting from the compensation proposal far more than the victims. The
removal of the spectre of protracted litigation saves them millions in fees
and eventual judgments.
The victims of 9/11 deserve to be fairly compensated if they are to
cooperate with the government's goals of limiting litigation and liability.
The present proposal for the victims compensation fund must be altered to
permit compensation to be calculated in a proper manner. Actual earnings and
potential earnings should be based upon reality -- the actual wages and NY
statistics; not an arbitrary standard. Also, there should be no caps on
these calculations. Finally, families that planned for their future by
buying insurance and saving for retirement should be penalized. The only
message this would send to Americans is that you are better off if you are
immature and irresponsible. Clearly, not the right message.
I urge each of you to sign onto Congressman Peter King's letter
concerning the victims compensation fund. Thank you for your time in this
extremely important matter.
Individual Comment
New York, NY