Compensation dispute
The week's news at a glance.
New York
Relatives of seven people killed in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 are suing the administrator of the federal fund created to compensate them. The families have accused the administrator, Kenneth Feinberg, of shortchanging them. For example, Feinberg computed the amount of income the families lost using the victims’ income after taxes, even though New York law calls for using before-tax figures to calculate wrongful-death awards. The fund is expected to cost taxpayers up to $5 billion. So far, Feinberg has made award offers to 154 families, with an average award of $1.56 million. “The simple fact is that we need more help,” one widow said.
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