Zoeller: Focus on early compensation to those most severely affected
INDIANAPOLIS – Attorney General Greg Zoeller met with victim compensation expert Kenneth Feinberg today to discuss how the Indiana Tort Claim Fund will be paid out to the maximum $5 million to assist victims of the Indiana State Fair tragedy.
The Attorney General administers the Tort Claim Fund from which victim compensation settlements will be paid. Feinberg, who previously has served as victim compensation fund administrator after 9/11, the Virginia Tech shootings, the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill and other tragedies, is donating his services as consultant to the Attorney General.
In their first face-to-face meeting on the State Fair tragedy, Zoeller and Feinberg discussed the possible outlines of a settlement-application process to ensure that victims of the August 13 disaster are treated equitably. The next step will be for the Office of the Indiana Attorney General to hire a respected claims-management firm that will field victims’ calls and questions and gather necessary information that Feinberg and the Attorney General will use.
“The State is not a private company and the Tort Claim Fund is not a private insurance policy; the State has a higher obligation than a private party. Our objective is focused on the victims of this tragedy. They will not be required to hire a lawyer if they don’t wish to; they could apply for compensation directly through the claim managers who have expertise in treating victims in a professional, courteous manner,†Zoeller said.
Drawing upon his work adjudicating claims after 9/11, Virginia Tech and other tragedies, Feinberg is devising a protocol for obtaining information from victims and determining amounts of fair and equitable compensation.
“I am honored by the Attorney General’s invitation to assist in providing prompt compensation to the victims of this terrible tragedy. We have learned a great deal from successful compensation programs established to pay the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Virginia Tech shootings, and last year’s massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Working for the Attorney General, I hope to use these experiences in helping to design a compensation program that will be efficient, swift, and transparent,†Feinberg said.
Current Indiana law caps the amount of settlements that can be paid out of the Tort Claim Fund to a total $5 million per incident. Out of the limited funds available, priority will be placed on compensating families of victims who died and victims seriously injured, Zoeller said.
Feinberg is advising the Attorney General on a protocol for reviewing settlement applications from victims and making settlement offers. Accepting a settlement offer would be optional; a victim could instead decline it and choose to pursue litigation in court. But reaching a settlement with the State would provide a victim with the certainty of compensation and early resolution of the case, while minimizing the costs of litigation that a protracted lawsuit would entail, Zoeller said.
Details of the settlement protocol still are being developed and the application time frame for issuing settlement payments has not yet been determined. A toll-free number and web address soon will be set up and posted on the Attorney General’s web site. Zoeller noted settlements will be distributed irrespective of liability, and the State does not admit liability by making settlement offers.
“We are expediting the process but must work through the necessary details. We are committed to implementing this settlement process with justice and compassion, relying upon the wisdom Mr. Feinberg brings from his previous experience compensating victims of 9/11 and other tragedies,†Zoeller said.
The Office of the Indiana Attorney General represents the State in various legal matters related to the State Fair tragedy. By statute, the Attorney General reviews claims and makes recommendations to the Governor for his consent before any settlement payments are made on behalf of the State.
Separate from his role consulting the Attorney General, Feinberg also is advising the Indiana State Fair Commission on protocols for distribution of the private charitable donations made to the Indiana State Fair Remembrance Fund. Feinberg is providing his expertise to both agencies at no charge to the State or taxpayers.
