On December 22, Congress approved a $4.2 billion compensation package for 9-11 survivors and for responders who became ill while working in the ruins after the attack. I have long been confused about this issue, so I tried to catalogue some of the facts:
1.The 9/11 Responders Health Bill:This is the $4.2 billion federal package just approved, to pay for police officers’, fire fighters,’ and other responders’ health care and illnesses caused by toxic fumes and other conditions at ground zero. Over 400 police officers and fire fighters died on the day of the attack, and nearly 1000 responders have died from related illnesses since then. September 11 attacks
2. The WTC Workers’ Settlement with NYC for Dust Exposure:
This is another fund of 625-725 million, to be divided among 10,000 or 11,000 members of clean up crews, police, firemen, etc. for an average of 65K per person, and ranging from a few thousand to over a million. This was under litigation for nearly a decade, but it was finalized in Nov 2010. This money comes from New York City.
WTC workers agree to $625 million settlement for toxic dust exposure
3. The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund:Separately of course, the families of the people who died on 9-11 received $7 billion, for an average of 1.8 million per family. September 11th Victim Compensation Fund
4. The September 11th Fund:A privately collected $528 million Fund, to help affected businesses and other parties.
September 11th Fund
5.The World Trade Center Captive Insurance Company:By June 10, 2010, this group had paid out $712.5 million in 9-11 related settlements to survivors for medical and other claims. The money came from New York City, FEMA and other sources. World Trade Center Captive Insurance Company
6. There is a Marriott Compensation Fund.
7. No doubt there are funds for the survivors of flight 77 which crash into the Pentagon (184 people died there), and...
8. Same for flight 93 which crashed in rural Pennsylvania (40 dead)
9. There must be other 9-11 victims compensation programs.
Things look messy.
For one thing, how many people qualify for these various programs? For example, Plan #2, above, ended up disbursing money to about 10,000 people, although initially 70,000 applied.
And how much does each survivor-applicant deserve? For example, many of the dead were highly compensated employees (stock brokers, financial consultants, etc.). Their families argued that they should be reimbursed for the very high lifetime income which the dead victims would have earned. This led to years of litigation.
Lawyers’ fees have also been a bone of contention. For example, in plan #5, above, at one time 95% of disbursements went to lawyers. More recently, I vaguely recall a judge ordering a limit to lawyers’ fees.
Here are my three hopes: (1) that the real victims get what they are entitled to, (2) that only true victims get compensation, and (3) that this business emerges out of the legal and bureaucratic morass in which it has been for nearly a decade. leave comment here
7 comments:
While I understand there may be a need for outsider health claim support, I don't understand why the regular New York municipal health plans wouldn't cover the municipal and port authority first responder health claims.
Good question!
Looks like good research to me Tom. Shameful! Analogous to welfare fraud. Help is set up with the best of intentions only to be abused by a minority of spineless vultures.
Tom Bridges
All of those special funds and special claims are worse than nonsense. They beg everyone to game the system lest they be gamed. It is all part and parcel of is our modern version of free-market cannibalism, which is far more debased then the superstitious practices of those tribes that used to eat human flesh.
You want those who are deserving to be treated fairly but who is more deserving and who less? The answer is simple. Everyone is equally deserving no matter if their loss is a result of 911 or a roadside explosion in Afghanistan or a mine explosion or a banana peel on the sidewalk.
And if we care do we dare we assign a differential value to one man's life over an other man life? There's no end to that game. The value of a life is not in what has already been done but in what might be realized in an unknowable future.
As for the lawyers who trade in blame, damn them all. We must care for our fallen and those left behind as a matter of course. Step 1 is to stop feeding on one another and calling it good, or natural, or fair. It is none of these.
I apologize for the "Anonymous" cannibalism post. I had a hard time figuring your system's posting requirements.
Tom, I have been wondering about this issue myself. It really is messy and although there are many people who truly deserve some compensation I think you are right in thinking that there is plenty of room for malfeasance and waste.
Thanks for the many comments.
We seem to be in agreement on most of this.
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