I’m sure you all have heard or read about the September 11 incident and know the disaster that followed. In case you are uninformed about this, then here’s a brief – in the year 2001, suicide terrorist attacks were carried out by the militant Islamic extremist group Al Qaeda. This was held in the soil of America, where a large number of people died in this hush. The mission was led by Osama Bin Laden, and 2996 people died in this massacre. Suicide attacks along with aircraft hijacking was made along with mass murder.
In this article, we’ll talk about the September victim compensation that was created. So without any more delay, let’s get into the topic.
The September 11 Victim Compensation Fund
The September 11 compensation fund was created to provide aid to the individual or any person who witnessed the tragedy, suffered physical harm, or was brutally killed during the attack. The probability of people who were affected due to exposure to debris or toxic substances in the aftermath was huge, and in that case, the families or the individuals were provided with compensation. Due to exposure to toxic chemicals and due to other reasons, more than 75 recognized cancer types were discovered.
In the year 2011, VCF (Victim Compensation Fund) was reopened and provided a lot of benefits to the claimants and to the people who lived in Lower Manhattan. From the day of its reopening, the VCF has awarded money which is approximately $5.5 billion, to more than 23000 claimants. It is said that all VCF claims must be filed by October 1, 2090. Though there are certain limits on the individual amount for the economic losses and the noneconomic classes claimants suffered.
Let’s now talk about the original VCF, and then we’ll get to know the other one as well.
Original VCF (2001)
The original VCF was created by The Title IV of the ATSSA. The main goal of the VCF was to provide monetary benefits to the people who suffered any kind of physical injury or death during the terrorist attack. Though they mainly concentrated on two types of individuals; the one where the individual was present in the world trade center, Pentagon, or aircraft crash site in Shanksville at the time of the airline crashes on that exact date, which is September 11. Then on to the second type, where the passenger or crew of any aircraft that crashed on this date.
Obviously, they had to dig into the costs and the payable amounts to each claimant. For this purpose, a special attorney was fixed, and he was responsible for determining the benefit amount for each claimant. Both of losses were considered, one was an economic loss, and another was a noneconomic loss. An economic loss is considered future earnings or lifetime earnings, whereas noneconomic losses mean any kind of pain or suffering that the person went through. However, the VCF didn’t apply for any kind of punitive damages. Also, if anyone had any kind of life insurance provided, benefits were reduced in certain collateral source payments.
As I already mentioned, the huge amount of money that VCF awarded. Congress provided a huge amount of funding for VCF.
The VCF was closed in the year 2003 and was again reopened in the year 2011. It was closed after it received new claims in the year 2003. As the claims increased and the concern increased as well. After the VCF was again reopened, it came back with more cash benefits than before for the people who were ill, or injured. It also helped people who worked in that targeted places or even lived nearby.
VCF Eligibility
To claim the fund, you need to be eligible in certain fields. Such as –
- If you died as a passenger or crew member in any hijacked aircraft, your family can claim.
- Went through any kind of physical harm as a direct result of the crashes.
- died in the aftermath of the incident or during the recovery, rescue, or debris removal.
The next criterion is physical harm. If you have any kind of physical injury or you suffered through any kind of physical injury, then the physical harm is often demonstrated by the presence of World Trade Center-related physical health conditions. The WTCHP Provides standardized guidance and determines whether the harm was caused due to exposure to the terrorist attack or as terrorist attack aftermath. It includes cash benefits accordingly.
Final Thoughts
It’s time to wrap up the article. Hopefully, this article was relevant to your search. Till the next time, take care and stay safe, you all.
Mindmingles