N001978
Friday, January 18, 2002 11:01 AM
comments on plan
Mr. Feinberg,
My mother, , was a passenger on American Airlines flight 11.
She was a happy, healthy 72 year old woman with a brother, five grown
children and ten grandchildren. She survived two bouts with breast cancer
and also losing her husband at age 54 to cancer. She devoted most of her
last 25 years to working with charitable organizations and volunteering.
She was given a plaque by the Governor of Massachusetts upon her retirement
as the of the , organization. When she
died, she was looking forward to getting home to California where she had a
new, active and fulfilling life - and where she was still volunteering to
help the less fortunate.
I believe that the airlines' failure to fortify the cockpit doors, even
after ordered to by the federal government, enabled the highjackers to carry
out their plan to take control of the aircraft. In my mind, this failure
makes the airlines directly responsible for my mother's murder.
I understand that the purpose of the compensation plan is to offer the
victims' families an alternative to filing lawsuits against the airlines -
in essence a settlement offer. Therefore, I object to families having to
agree to a settlement offer and signing away the right to sue before the
amount of the offer is determined.
I object to life insurance payouts being deducted from any settlement award.
Insurance was paid for and provided by the victims and should have no
bearing on settlement amounts.
I also believe all victims should be treated equally with all families who
agree not to sue the airlines being given equal amounts. To attempt to
predict the future lives of the victims, and thus assign different values to
the lives of the victims is bound to be inaccurate. Let's assume all of
those 3000 unfortunate people suffered equally and that all of their
families are now suffering equally. To treat everyone equally regarding a
settlement offer is much simpler and shows no disrespect to any of the
victims by attaching different values to their lives.
The compensation plan is not charity, it's the government's attempt to
protect the airlines from the victims families by making a settlement offer
that's more attractive than going to court. The fact that the compensation
plan exists makes me think that the government knows the airlines are
responsible and fears a catastrophe if the 3000 families all sued. Since
the aim is to placate the families, I request that equal amounts be offered
to all.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed plan.
Individual Comment
Toronto, Ontario Canada