Kenneth Feinberg, a Washington lawyer overseeing the September 11th special victims fund, announced last week that families applying for payments would receive an average of $1.65 million from the Federal government. The tax-free payments will be distributed to families of those killed or injured during the terrorist attacks and are based on lost earning power and pain and suffering endured. Payments to victims and their families will be reduced based on amounts of life insurance, pension funds, and other federal death benefits already received.

Families of many victims have criticized the plan, claiming that additional compensation is needed. Some attorneys recommend that families file civil lawsuits rather than apply for government compensation, as past aviation and terrorism related cases yielded multi-million dollar verdicts. It should be noted that in filing suit, families lose their opportunity for reimbursement from the victim relief fund.