N002467
January 19, 2002
From:
Husband of - Killed Sept 11, 2001 at the Pentagon
Springfield, Virginia
To:
Mr. Kenneth Feinberg, Special Master of the September 11th Victim
Compensation Fund of 2001
In Care Of Mr. Kenneth L. Zwick, Director
Office of Management Programs
Civil Division
U.S. Department of Justice
Main Building, Room 3140
950 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20530
Fax: 301-519-5956
Re: The Interim Final 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 wife is
devastating. I would exchange all compensation to bring my wife 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 us 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 non pecuniary 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, noneconomic losses are limited to $250,000 for my wife
and $50,000 for my daughter and myself. My family would receive only one-tenth the amount of
noneconomic losses recovered in other air crash and terrorism cases, which commonly result in awards
well into the seven-figure range.
b) The Interim Final Rule understates economic losses: It underestimates the lifetime
earning potential of victims at all income levels. Independent economists have shown the interim final
rule uses
outdated and inapplicable work-life and life-cycle earnings data from tables including the 1979 to 1980
Department of Labor's Bulletin 2254. This seriously underestimates promotions, work-life and pay
increases and consequently provides low estimates of my wife's future earnings. In addition , the
Interim
Final Rule does not allow for the recovery of lost household services, which for working women with
children would range to $430,000. Finally, it caps the salaries of high-income victims.
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. The law requires the subtraction of
earned pension
funds and personal life insurance payments before a payment from the Victim Compensation Fund can
be made.
The initial low award amounts combined with collateral payment deductions will create a situation
where there is
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 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 undergarments 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 us 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 with the rule
or the explanatory materials.
Husband of - Killed Sept 11, 2001 at the Pentagon
Sincerely,
Individual Comment
Springfield, VA