The U.S. government made two promises to the families of those who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks: A special Justice Department fund would compensate their financial losses, and official investigations would uncover the security failures that enabled al-Qaeda to kill 3,027 people. Uncle Sam asked one thing of the families in return: Don’t drag the battered airlines and their affiliates into court. Many members of Congress wanted to avoid the sad spectacle of victims’ families suing another hard-hit group. Nearly two years later, many families of 9/11 victims are rejecting that guidance. With the Dec. 22 deadline to apply for government payments nearing, the relatives of 1,995 deceased victims have submitted claims. The families are lining up for settlement checks that are averaging nearly $1.5 million, and they are agreeing not to sue airlines, airports, security companies or other U.S. entities that might be faulted in the fatal hijackings. Full Story
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