Internal memo discussing potential litigation against the City related to 9/11 events, including estimated claims and liability concerns.
NYC-WTC_000138296–000138297Folder label: “Folder 140”
OCR status: ok · source: pdftotext
NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document
To: Robert Harding, Deputy Mayor
From: Michelle Goldstein
Re: Legislative Alternatives to Limit the City's Liability relating to 9/11/01
According to the Law Department, there are approximately 35,000 potential plaintiffs as a result of the events of September 11 and it is estimate that 10,000 would file a claim. Currently, the Tort division handles approximately 8,000 lawsuits per year. A major concern is that if these cases make it to court, the judges and juries will be biased in favor of plaintiffs (even though the City seems to have a strong defense) and therefore, award substantial damages to compensate individuals for their loss.
Tort claims against the City cost about $308 million in FY 2000 (excluding $152 million for medical malpractice).
The following is a list of some of the types of potential lawsuits against the City:
Direct Effect - A direct contact by law enforcement and public safety officers directing individuals who relied (to their detriment) on the direction. - People who ran from the crash and claim they fell on a roadway defect
Aftermath - Police failed to secure evacuated premises from looters - Health advisories caused individuals either to return to the area too soon (causing toxic exposure or emotional harm) or too late (causing economic hardship). - Rescue workers were provided with faulty equipment or no equipment (i.e. respirators). - Unsafe workplace (OSHA, FEMA, Labor Law) - Business interruption claims for evacuation that poor communication and confusion delayed access to return. - Inadequate clean up
Following are legislative options:
Creation of a Congressional Fund for the Victims One way to limit the City's liability is for Congress to create a congressional fund that mirrors the fund created for the airline industry. Congress, in the Airline bailout, created the "September 11°' Victim Compensation Fund of 2001" that will provide compensation to any individual (or relatives of a deceased individual) who was physically injured or killed as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001. The
NYC-WTC 000138296
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machine-extracted · confidence unavailable · Check page ↗NYC-WTC_000136542
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