Family of man killed in September 11 attacks accepts $1m payout from compo fund

By Tom Kelly, New York THE family of a man killed in the World Trade Center has accepted a million-dollar award in the first settlement from the US Government’s disaster compensation fund.

Relatives of the unnamed financial services worker, who was single and in his 20s, agreed not to sue the airlines in exchange for the $1m payout.

“This is a family that wanted closure,” the family’s lawyer Robert Gordon told the Washington Post. “They wanted it done.”

The multi-billion dollar Victims’ Compensation Fund was set up by Congress after September 11 to compensate the families of those killed in the attacks. More than 2,800 people died in the attacks, but so far only 634 families have filed claims.

Many relatives were believed to have been waiting for the first payout before deciding whether to apply to the fund rather than bring lawsuits. Mr Gordon said the $1.04 million award was on “the upper end” of what the relatives had claimed, and was awarded for the man’s “unfulfilled economic potential and for the family’s pain and suffering.”

He added that the payout has brought little consolation to the family. “They are still in very deep grief. They would gladly give up all of this to have their son back.”