Making amends

s the Dec. 22, 2003, deadline for filing claims with the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund approached, Special Master Kenneth Feinberg worried and watched.

Those final days would determine the success or failure of the unique fund that Congress set up to compensate the people injured or families of those killed in the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

Claims trickled in slowly at first-only 2,191 were filed by August 2003-and Feinberg, a Washington lawyer who has lived and breathed the fund for more than two years, had sent out a mere 720 award letters.

But as the deadline neared, claims flooded in. As of Feb. 10, 2004, the final count was 7,312. Families of those who were killed filed 2,941 claims, 98 percent of those eligible. No one knows how many were injured in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the Shanksville, Pa., crash, but 4,371 of those victims filed claims.

Although the deadline for submitting claims has passed, Feinberg's office will hold hearings and process the applications for several more months. As of February, his office had resolved 3,280 cases for those seeking compensation, which required about 500 hearings. Deborah Greenspan, Feinberg's law partner, expects about 500 more hearings before all claims are settled.

"We're pleased," Greenspan says. "It was good people made it within the deadline. We were worried people would miss it and trot in a week later wanting to file a claim."

Of the 2,049 award letters issued, the highest amount, $7.9 million, went to a burn victim, Greenspan says. The largest award going to the family of a person killed in the attacks was just under $7 million. The average amount issued was $1.8 million, compared with Feinberg's initial estimate of $1.4 million.

Feinberg had predicted he would award $3 billion to $4 billion, but the total is likely to range around $5 billion, Greenspan says.

When Congress established the victims' fund with the passage of the Air Transportation Safety and Stabilization Bill on Sept. 22, 2001, it didn't cap the amounts Feinberg could distribute. Lawmakers hoped that victims would choose to receive an amount guaranteed by the fund, rather than sue-perhaps bankrupting-the airlines.

The amount a family or victim can receive depends on age, income and number of dependents, among other considerations. Those who accept the money are prohibited from suing anyone, except the terrorists themselves.

But as the months-and then the anniversary-passed, Feinberg and others grew concerned that people were slow to file their claims. And some families challenged Feinberg's administration of the fund, bringing the matter before Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, who is overseeing all the Sept. 11 cases. The judge dismissed the lawsuits in May 2003, rejecting plaintiffs' claims that Feinberg had abused his discretion.

Many victims and families did turn to the compensation fund, figuring that even if the amount they received was less than what they could win in a lawsuit against the airlines, it would be awarded much quicker.

But others-in particular, some families of victims who earned more than $250,000 annually-chose to sue. Some lawyers predicted that the family of someone who had several dependents and a large income could receive as much as $30 million in court.

Others chose to sue because they wanted to see the airlines held accountable, says Marc Moller, a lawyer with the Manhattan-based law firm of Kreindler & Kreindler. Moller is the plaintiff liaison for the victims and families who are suing.

Greenspan is proud that so many people chose to use the victims' fund, which is slated to fold by June 15. Those in Feinberg's office, who have devoted much of their time to the fund during the past two years, will focus on their law practice. Working closely with victims of the attacks was "challenging and sorrowful," Greenspan says.

Only about 2 percent of families who lost a relative opted out of the fund, making it "an unprecedented and historic success," says Leo Boyle, past president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

Case by Case

Note: Figures as of Feb. 10, 2004
Source: Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund