Eleven million dollars. This is the value of the settlement reached between most families of victims from April 16 and the Commonwealth of Virginia, designed to compensate for the lost lives and medical costs that occurred from the shootings.
Peter Grenier and Douglas Fierberg, lawyers representing 21 families in the case, said in a press release that they were pleased with the settlement outcome.
Although they did not want to disclose details while finalizations were currently being made, Edward Jazlowiecki, a lawyer for the family of slain student Henry Lee, said the original proposal had not changed.
The agreement had been offered as a means of avoiding lawsuits for gross negligence, which at least 20 families had warned of filing by the April 16 deadline date. Gov. Tim Kaine acknowledged in a press release that a "substantial majority of the victims and victims' families" had accepted the state's offer.
However, Jazlowiecki said the rest of the families and those severely injured in the shootings who don't agree with the newly reached settlement are still free to file notice of suit by next Wednesday. "The point is, nobody's really satisfied with the agreement; the only thing is some people don't have the intestinal fortitude to go through another two or three years of this, and I don't blame them," Jazlowiecki said. "I have great admiration for families that aren't going to buckle under and take the lousy settlement, and they're going to sue the state."
He expressed his great dissatisfaction with the settlement offer, saying each of the 32 families who lost someone should receive a figure around $2 to 3 million rather than $100,000 each.
"The state doesn't do anything to benefit anything but the state, they don't care about their population, they could care less," Jazlowiecki said. "This is another thing they're trying to buy off as cheaply as possible, and it's business as usual; I mean the whole Virginia Tech massacre will bear the mark of Kaine forever."
For many months, Tech has worked closely with the state to seek an agreement and will be included with the state if the lawsuits are filed.
"President Steger has said before that he believes that a mutually agreeable settlement is in the best interests of the university and the commonwealth and the individuals who have been most severely affected by it," said university spokesman Larry Hincker.
Roger O'Dell, father of junior biology major Derek O'Dell, who had been injured in the shootings, said he didn't want his son to have to deal with further reminders of his experiences on April 16. "I think the bad part of it is that a lot of people who did accept it, victims, or the families of victims, just wanted it to be over with, and wanted to get it behind them," said Roger O'Dell. "That would be one more step toward closure."
O'Dell also said that his son's memories are very difficult to live with.
"Because he has such a vivid recollection of what happened, he had such a good view of what happened, he would almost certainly be called to testify in court," O'Dell said. "So for him, he might even have to relive it on the witness stand if it were to go to court."
He noted, however, that it probably wouldn't get that far, as settlements would continue to be proposed to those who actually file notice of a suit. Gordon Hickey, press secretary to Gov. Kaine, said that the completion of the settlement finalization process is unknown at this time.
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Ka-ching! Ka-ching! The lawyers get at least $800,000 in fees, the families get another $100,000 + on top of the $212,000 from the Hokie Spirit Fund (both tax free) and the Tech administrators and counseling department staff get to save face and careers by escaping a civil case.
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It's nice to know that money can buy someones life.
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On a different note: Has anything been changed legally that would prevent a similar incident. Has FERPA been overturned?
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Brian, I agree. The families should sue the federal government because of that ridiculous law.
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The families shouldn't really have standing to sue any branch of the government, because the taxpayer base as a whole isn't responsible for the tragedies committed by the hands of individuals. This settlement is a gross miscarriage of justice, one which will be borne by the general populace of Virginia. Good to know that my tax dollars will find their way into the pockets of lawyers - money well spent, indeed.
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Brian : FERPA has been clarified by the US Dept. of Education, and by subsequent recent legislation in Congress, to provide a "good faith" shield for college administrators to disclose information concerning a troubled student to their parental units.
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" Ka-ching! Ka-ching! The lawyers get at least $800,000 in fees, the families get another $100,000 + on top of the $212,000 from the Hokie Spirit Fund (both tax free) and the Tech administrators and counseling department staff get to save face and careers by escaping a civil case." I think this quote sums it up well and very concisely. Kyle, Some lady hear in Montgomery county sued the town of blacksburg and a bicycle race director and won $300,000 because she hit a bicyclist and killed him. Her claim was the signage was not adequate and caused her to mis the stop sign resulting in her striking the rider. How could she win? Answer: Liberal jurors, they are much more prevelant on the east coast.
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Blood Money Plain and Simple. I hate that these kids were killed and hurt, but VA Tech has done nothing other than show compassion, understanding and work to make the campus a safer place. The Killer is the one at fault. If you think that this can never happen again, you are wasting your time and money by staying in school.
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To 6:28 pm: The case involving the motorist and the triathlon competitor who ran right into her car and died was a case where the cyclist ran a stop sign and she, the motorist claimed there wasn't any warning to motorists that the race was occurring. She did not run any stop signs. http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/148995 The city paid out, but the employee responsible for mispromoting the event was allowed to leave and didn't pay a dime.
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Pfff...they were looking for a 9/11 settlement (around $2 million) which I didn't agree with either
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Funny how the person complaining the loudest over the "lousy settlement" is the one who has the most to gain over the whole ordeal. This lawyer,Jazlowiecki, didn't lose a child in the shootings but I guarantee he gets a healthy percentage of the settlement payment. No money can repay the loss these families have endured and it makes me sick that money is even an issue for them. Shame on the families who are holding out for more money; the settlement offer is fair and appropriate. Maybe if they are able to hold out for more they will finally be able to afford that second home and have nice things; that should help them get over their loss, I hope they're happy, I'm sure their lawyers are.
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If the lawyers for the families were so interested in getting accountability for April 16th, why didn't they put Cho's parents on the list of individuals to be sued? I suppose because they didn't have deep pockets, they weren't of interest to the lawyers. But it was they who decided to allow their clearly "odd" and mute son to go to school so far away, without showing any concern that his circumstances at the high school in Fairfax with regards to special accommodation, were made known at Tech. The school ends up paying $19 million (state funds and HSMF) to the victim families for Cho, the parents get away with a letter of apology released through a third party lawyer and that's it.
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Ok Fred, you want to blame Cho's family for what happened. That's fine. But we all know that everyone at VT. who had any encounters with Cho knew about his mental problem and ignored it. How do you justify that? Why didn't VT. administrators take action to prevent him from being around? And do you know if anything has changed about how to deal with student in distress since April shooting?
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Every comment in the 10:56 post is incorrect. Cho's parents were called by a roommate, Police were called at the concern of a roommate to step in, mental health clinics were notified, professors went out of their way to deal with him, hundreds of changes have occured in response to university audits that were in the plans even before the shooting occurred, etc., etc. Needless to say, it is understandable why the previous post won't sign his name. I would also be ashamed of myself if I were making posts so irresponsible.
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Lee, so what was done to prevent the tragedy. everything was just on paper no real action. I wasn't defending Cho's family. Of course they didn't take care of thier son, and they have to live with it for the rest of their lives. My point was that did anyone really care about Cho's mental problems? Including faculty members and administrators.
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Lee, so what was done to prevent the tragedy. everything was just on paper no real action. I wasn't defending Cho's family. Of course they didn't take care of thier son, and they have to live with it for the rest of their lives. My point was that did anyone really care about Cho's mental problems? Including faculty members and administrators.
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What would happen today, or in the future, when a student starts behaving "erratically" Does the University have a policy in place now to remove the student. Can they notify parents or next of kin? They remove students for alcohol or drug use. Will VT be liable of violating rights defined by FERPA?
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What would happen today, or in the future, when a student starts behaving "erratically" Does the University have a policy in place now to remove the student. Can they notify parents or next of kin? They remove students for alcohol or drug use. Will VT be liable of violating rights defined by FERPA?
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Removing a student from the university would not prevent a tragedy like this - look at NIU - the gunman was a former student.
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I wasn't calling on the Cho parents to be labeled as "solely responsible", but their omission from the litigants in the now-averted civil suit was an oversight. The administrators at Tech would have liked to have done more in the Cho situation, but believed at the time that their hands were so tied by HIPPA and FERPA, that Cho, as an adult, could not have his psychological records/medical records commented on by the university to the parents under any circumstance without his consent. As it turned out, FERPA applies only to educational grade records, not other school materials. That unfortunately, was only clarified by the Review Panel after April 16th.
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Listen people, lawyers get paid for doing their jobs, get over it. Unfortunately, their jobs entail dealing with the unpleasant aspects of our lives. Do you think the county coroner should do his job pro bono just because people have to die to keep him in business? Also, Jazlowiecki is really laying it on thick with "they [the state] don't care about their population." Really? The whole point of offering settlements is to be good stewards of taxpayer money, by minimizing court costs. The injured are not the only citizens of the state whose needs have to be looked out for. You can't support the families all suing the state for $3 million apiece, and then also whine about the budget cuts in education and transportation.
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I'd almost like to have seen this played out in court, because there's a good chance the families might have come away with absolutely nothing. Which, incidentally, is what they SHOULD have received from the state, since it isn't the job of the state to protect all of its citizens at all times.
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Kommie Kanie...you know he is lawyer's best friend. Paying off families of the decesed and injured...$11M of your taxpayer dollars. Having your incompetent lawyer buddies playing cya games, profitting from tragedy with career intact...priceless. Why not have someone take to fall for some of this crap. Where is the US District Attorney? Chos judge made the right decision. He simply failed to act upon his decision as prescribed by 18 usc § 922 (d)4 (g)4 http://www.atf.treas.gov/firearms/legal/prohibitions.htm Adjudicated head cases are susposed to be just like fellons...cannot possess firearms. I guess what this is all about is lawyers look after their own. Lawyers want to go around and play God but do not want any part of the consequences of screwing up.
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Brian, Kaine just signed some bills which (I don't think) conflict with FERPA. A "Parent of dependent student" can be informed of mental health treatment (school health centers) if there "exists a substantial likelihood that the student will, in the near future, cause serious physical harm to himself or others" (House Bill 1005). So if you get crunk don't wind up at a campus health facility.
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"The families shouldn't really have standing to sue any branch of the government, because the taxpayer base as a whole isn't responsible for the tragedies committed by the hands of individuals. This settlement is a gross miscarriage of justice, one which will be borne by the general populace of Virginia." I think this comment says 2 things: ONE, you have not, and are not in law school. I AM and your issue on standing is just plainly incorrect. Second: "miscarriage of justice...tax dollars"....I never understood why people make this illogical conclusion. I guess it makes them feel that they have more power than they actually do. I'm sure the $300-400 you pay in taxes will not rise as a result.
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Having your incompetent lawyer buddies playing cya games, profitting from tragedy with career intact...priceless. Why not have someone take to fall for some of this crap. Where is the US District Attorney? Chos judge made the right decision. He simply failed to act upon his decision as prescribed by 18 usc § 922 (d)4 (g)4 http://www.atf.treas.gov/firearms/legal/prohibitions.htm Adjudicated head cases are susposed to be just like fellons...cannot possess firearms. I guess what this is all about is lawyers look after their own. Lawyers want to go around and play God but do not want any part of the consequences of screwing up. What is going on at VT?? You all need to spend more time in a classroom instead of on this site apparently. I despise people who wikipedia the law, and make misguided conclusions. FIRST, how do you know the lawyer is incompetent? SECOND, The money will most likely come from accounts that are saved for situations just like this. Money that is placed on reserve to deal with unfortunate situations. You paying your taxes tomorrow does not equal paying towards the $11 million. I don't understand what is so hard about this concept. THIRD-US DISTRICT ATTY???? In a civil case, there are no district attys. Ummm hello, they are only in criminal cases. FOURTH-wasn't the case in STATE court? The statute you prescribed, is a FEDERAL statute.
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But that's just the point, hokievpi -the government has no means of making money because it doesn't make a product to sell on the market. Every penny the government has, be it state, federal, or local, comes from the various taxes assessed to the citizens of that jurisdiction. Tax dollars, ostensibly, are to be used to pay for developments and protections which benefit the general welfare of the people in the jurisdiction. The fact that the Commonwealth of Virginia 'tucked some money away' in a savings account for the purpose 'emergency disbursement' doesn't make this case any less ridiculous - it's still tax money, and that tax money is going to pay for something that doesn't benefit but a select few members of the Commonwealth. My understanding of the issue of legal standing may be misinformed, but that doesn't mean that I'm not entitled to an opinion regarding it - clearly, the families had standing because the lawsuit had (I believe) been filed. My argument is that the families SHOULD NOT HAVE HAD standing, and that the law ought to be re-written to reflect that. It isn't the burden of society to pay for the misdeeds of individuals. Regardless of how much I pay in taxes, that money is paid directly for my benefit and for the benefit of the Commonwealth. Disbursement to individuals is a dishonest application of that money, whether I pay $10 or $10 million in taxes.
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I am not sure that universities can be held liable for the actions of students; especially since the Federal Government prohibits universities from disclosing private information about students...I don't know. I guess this is why businesses, and colleges are businesses, have insurance policies to cover things like this.
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Actually, Lia, someone pointed out to me that they can under federal law. I'll see if I can find that reference, but it was a while ago.
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I think, Jason, that the law was simply inexplicit as it had been written - in the aftermath of last April's tragedy, lawmakers looked at and clarified the existing privacy laws so as to permit universities to disclose personal information if it was in the best interests of the student. I'm not POSITIVE that is the case - but I think that's how it went down.
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So how is all this money going to soothe the anguish of a grieving parent? Even if the families do manage to extort this settlement from the state, what will they do with it? Will a new boat make them feel better?
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Yeah, if you get killed in a state park nobody expects anything. Beyond that my heart goes out to the victim's families and friends. ..especially tomorrow.
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Gee...Roger O'Dell says his Derek does not want to be reminded of April 16th anymore and the memories are hard to live with. He sure does like to talk to the media about it every chance he gets. This kid sure seems like he is also trying to cash in on tragedy as well.
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