dojP000626.xml

dojP000626.xml

born-digital

email

yes

no

2002-02-11

February 11, 2002

Kenneth R. Feinberg, Special Master
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20530

Dear Mr. Feinberg:

The September 11th tragedy affected our lives unlike anything before. A lot of things changed since
that day, especially for families that lost a loved one. It seems as though everyone wants to help in some
way and that the government is trying to do their share, but it still doesn't seem to be enough. The
interim final rule of the Victims Compensation Found express that the amount of compensation shall be
reduced by all collateral source compensation, including life insurance, pension funds, death benefit
programs, and payment by federal, state, or local governments related to the terrorist-related aircraft
crashes of September 11, 2001. It seems unfair that the government is reducing the settlement
awards by the life insurance received. This is the reason I am writing to you to express my concerns.

I have read a lot of information about the Victims Compensation Fund and it seems to be a good
plan. Not only will it help the victims' families but also alleviate the necessity of litigation. I feel that
litigation would not only be time consuming and painful for the families, but it may also hurt the already
suffering airline industry.

As a Special Master, you are in charge of implementing the government package to those families. It
seems as though the settlement amount is divided into two separate aspects: economic and and
noneconomic losses. I understand your formula but if you can put a cap of $250,000 for pain and
suffering to the deceased (noneconomic loss) then why can't you put a cap on the amount deducted for
life insurance?

Families who planned for themselves and obtained life insurance should not be penalized for having
done so. For example, if a family's deceased made approximately $200,000 per year, that person, if
they had a wife and two kids, would get approximately $2,500,000.00. That seems to be really fair
until you take into consideration what you refer to as "collateral source adjustment". Life insurance,
government, and employer benefits would then be deducted. So if a family had $1,000,000 in life
insurance, it would seem that they would only receive $1,500,000.00. But then again you still need to
deduct other benefits like Social Security and Workers Compensation How would you even get the
deduction number for these benefits? There doesn't seem to an easy way to determine these other
numbers because they are so dependant on other factors, like how long they will accumulate, etc.

My idea is to cap the life insurance deduction (non-economic loss) number. So if a deceased had a
wife and two kids, the cap would be $400,000.0 ($250,000 for the deceased, $50,000 for spouse and
$50,000 for each child). This seems to be a much fairer solution because the settlement amount would
then be $2,100,000.00, which would be enough for a family to survive on. I know there is probably no
easy answer, but if you can put a number on human life with non-economic loss calculation, then you
certainly should penalized that same person for have planning ahead.

My other reason for capping the life insurance adjustment is that it would seem as though the
government wants everyone to opt into the program. As I understand it "opting in" means giving up your
rights to sue. It seems as though the whole idea of the program was two-fold, protecting the families
and the airlines. But if families don't get enough of a settlement then what choice to they have but to
sue? What good is the Victims Compensation Fund, if it doesn't end up meeting the criteria for which it
was written?

Thank you for your time and consideration in reading my letter. My only hope is that I may help by
voicing my opinion.

Sincerely,




Individual Comment
Rumson NJ

2002-02-11