Judge slams WTC proposed settlement, orders new deal

[cal04]

Source: Newsday

A settlement proposed last week for thousands of injured ground zero workers who sued New York City is insufficient, a Manhattan federal judge said Friday.

Ordering a renegotiation of the deal Friday, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said the proposal announced last week involving up to $657 million and endorsed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, "is not enough."

The city also should pay the plaintiffs' legal costs, Hellerstein said in a court hearing he scheduled to hear from victims and give his own views on the fairness of the plan.

(snip)
After hearing from several ground zero first responders and cleanup workers, Hellerstein blasted the agreement, which was the result of negotiations between attorneys for the plaintiffs, the city, about 140 contractors and the WTC Captive Insurance Company. It set up an administrative process to pay thousands or millions of dollars to police, firefighters and other workers depending on the severity of their injuries.

Read more: http://www.newsday.com/news/judge-slams-wtc-proposed-settlement-orders-new-deal-1.1820426

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http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/03/19/2010-03-19_judge_in_911_health_trial_orders_city_lawyers_to_renegotiate_settlement_for_grou.html

[Subdivisions]

1. Christine Todd Whitman said the air was safe to breathe...

It wasn't. And she knew it. And, if that administration could do that to first responders, HEROES!, then what else were they capable of doing?

[young_at_heart]

2. It's Bush's fault according to her

She said that she was addressing residents of Lower Manhattan — not workers at ground zero. This was in her testimony to Congress in 2007. In April 2008 the US Court of Appeals said that Whitman had based her information on contradictory information and statements from President Bush. The U.S. Department of Justice had argued that holding the agency liable would establish a risky legal precedent because future public officials would be afraid to make public statements.

[No Elephants]

5. Let's not forget Rudy Guiliani, then Mayor of New York City. The first responders

worked for him.

[Zoeisright]

7. Yep, another fuckiing lying repuke.

Well, that is all they do - lie.

[Donnachaidh]

3. Bloomberg, another elitist that thinks it's okay to toss change at the great unwashed

Even when those unwashed spent days looking for survivors in the towers. :puke:

[dipsydoodle]

4. BBC News link

Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein said that he did not think the agreement represented a sufficient sum of money.
>
Mr Hellerstein said the injured workers should be able to know the approximate value of the cash award they might receive before deciding whether or not they should accept the settlement.
>
He added that he was concerned that too much of the final sum would be eaten up by legal fees.

Under the current deal, lawyers' fees may be drawn from a $1bn fund set aside by federal government to cover the claims.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8577491.stm

[Subdivisions]

6. Here's another BBC link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7SwOT29gbc