$11M Deal For Families Of Va. Tech Victims

Governor Says "Substantial Majority" Of Families Agree To Settlement With State

(AP)  Families of the victims in the Virginia Tech shootings have reached a tentative $11 million settlement with the state, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Thursday. The deal is designed to prevent future lawsuits.

Kaine said a "substantial majority" of families of victims of the Virginia Tech shootings agreed to the settlement.

Peter Grenier and Douglas Fierberg, who represent 21 families, also confirmed the settlement but would not discuss its terms until final papers are drawn in a few days.

Kaine spokesman Gordon Hickey described the settlement as "a work in progress."

"We're discussing things with the families. There's still a confidentiality agreement we're honoring until it's signed and in place," Hickey said.

Attorney General Bob McDonnell's office had no comment on the settlement, spokesman Tucker Martin said.

Seung-Hui Cho, a mentally disturbed student, killed 32 victims and wounded two dozen others at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007 before committing suicide. Twenty-two families had previously filed notice with the state that they may sue.

It was not immediately clear whether the settlement was significantly different from an earlier state proposal, the details of which were obtained last month by The Associated Press. That proposed deal totaled roughly $8.5 million plus the cost of reimbursing and paying for medical and psychological treatment for victims' families and survivors.

That proposal called for representatives of each of those killed to receive $100,000. A pool of $800,000 was set aside for the injured in the plan, with individuals eligible to receive up to $100,000 apiece. Families of those killed could seek additional money from a $1.75 million hardship fund, and other money was to be set aside for attorneys' fees and a fund for charities.

The settlement also would give the injured and victims' families a chance to meet with the governor and university officials several times to discuss the mass shootings and changes on campus since then.

By accepting the proposal, family members gave up the right to sue the state government, the school, the local governments serving Virginia Tech and the community services board that provides mental-health services in the area.

The student gunman had been ruled a danger to himself during a court commitment hearing in 2005 and was ordered to receive outpatient mental health care, but never received treatment.

In October, the families and surviving victims received payments ranging from $11,500 to $208,000 from the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, set up in the days after the shootings to handle donations that poured into the school. That fund will remain open for contributions to scholarships for five years.

Families originally were told they had to respond to the state's offer by March 31, but the deadline was extended.

[tsnell44]

Settlements aren''t taxable, so it is really just the attorneys and whoever they gave a kick back to.

[usbrit-2009]

With 40% going to the lawyers and 36% going to the Government $11 million ain''t what it used to be.

[tsnell44]

It''s just lawyers getting rich and our court systems and governments letting them do so.

[tsnell44]

I am from the state of Viriginia and have family that have gone to Tech and are currently at Tech, but I don''t understand why I the taxpayer have to pay 11 million nor did I understand why we had to pay after 9/11. You can''t stop every psycho walking around...I think everyone in America probably knows one psycho out there that could snap at any time.

[eggy1620]

it was the University that allowed a mental case to enroll/re-inroll into the University after his diagnosis. Posted by Etheone

Exactly! These incidents will continue to occur as long as insane privacy and rights protections continue to exist for the insane. This chump and others like him should be forced to walk around society wearing a big scarlet %u2018U%u2019 on their chest for unstable, or a %u2018B%u2019 for bipolar, etc. The way things exist now, there is absolutely no way for any of us to beware of individuals who have just walked out of their therapist%u2019s office ready to explode.

[beehive21-2009]

The lawyers should be hung,sucking blood out of dead kids.

[glock4me]

As I understand the concealed carry laws in VA, and I guess I should since I have a VA concealed handgun permit, a VT student with valid concealed carry permit and possession of a firearm on campus is NOT in violation of any state law.

The gun-free zone is a university policy and, as I understand it, only applies to students, faculty, and staff... NOT visitors. Students caught with a firearm on campus would be subject to "disiplinary action", which, at worst, would be dismissal from the school.

Similar rules apply at other state colleges and universities in VA, with, for some reason VCU (Virginia Commonwealth U.) in Richmond. For some reason, that campus is listed as a gun-free zone like courthouses, K-12 public schools, etc.

[displeased]

VT or the State shouldn''t have to pay unless they''re negligent. VT already gave 100K to the families from the memorial fund. To pay millions as some people suggest is absurd. It was an unfortunate tragedy that could have easily happened anywhere else (such as Illinois). And it will probably happen again. It is impossible to secure every classroom across the country.

As far as servicemen, they are accepting a job they know may have dire consequences. They should have a hefty life insurance plan.

[payasyougo]

And I agree with the thoughts of other posts - the family of each dead service man or woman should receive $1M for the voluntary sacrifice of their loved ones.

To fund that amount our government will have to cut back on studies of cow flatulation, the effects of habitat loss to the red and black shield bug and possibly even cut back on the multi thousands of earmarks.

[bequialife]

to: cbhicks8812
I second that! Think of all the servicemen who have lifetime injuries, trauma, scars. They don''t even get good medical care. What a shame.

[bequialife]

What greed! Money can''t replace a person! Why don''t they sue the parents of the crazed gunman for raising such a psycho? Why don''t they sue the previous schools for not doing the discipline the parents didn''t do? After all, someone ELSE has to be blamed!

[payasyougo]

Each student who was denied the right to carry on campus and died becuase of it should each get about $10M.

VA Techs prohibits "unauthorized possession, storage or control" of firearms on campus.

While knowledge that other students could be carrying might have been a deterrent to this crime, it could possibly have reduced the number of deaths.

Gun free zones only work in the criminals favor.

The school should pay. Other schools should take heed.

[cbhicks8812]

I think the incident that took place at VT is extremely sad and very unfortunate BUT it is absolutely absurd to award a figure like $11 million to the families of the victims. There are men and women who serve and die for this country every single day and some if not most of them have never even seen $100,000 in a single year and, yet, the families of the victims are each receiving that sum of money?!? I''d like to see the family members of each and every serviceman and woman killed be awarded funds like that...instead we have our men and women in uniform returning home to eviction notices and empty bank accounts!!! This absolutely SCREAMS that there is something wrong in this country!

[swwils]

I guarantee if one my children was involved in that tragedy that I would not be settling for 100K.That isn''t enough to cover most of their tuition,and efforts towards their degree.It certainly isn''t no way even close to the value of their life.They got off too easy.I would have drained that school just for letting a mentally ill individual run his demonic fantasy at the cost of my child.

[bud28dy]

CHACHING!!!! Another group of greedy relatives cash in on the death of their loved ones even though it was a random act by an insane individual which no one could have stopped. Have these people no shame?

[glock4me]

What a mess. Does everyone get an equal share? What about students or profs with families? Should they get more? Should an old prof near retirement get less? If I recall the victims of the 9/11 attacks got unequal amounts based on some such formula.

Should the government - state or federal - be in this business? I say no, but on the other hand perhaps the state-run univeristy should be punished for creating the gun-free killing zone.

GO HOKIES!!!!

[keithle1]

Has it been a year already? Jeez. I wouldn''t want it. It''s not going to bring my family member back from the dead or make me feel better. Set up a scholarship fund with the $11 million.

We all take life for granted. But of course anything can happen at any time.

[cbsblogger]

Unless really bad behavior against others leads to serious costs for institutions and corporations, that were derelict, there will never be any changes made to correct the core problem. Money and only money will result in changes in rules and behavior.

The perp was allowed to purchase firearms even though he was not mentally stable. His medical records were kept hidden under some ridiculous govt. regulation. This resulted in innocent victims being killed because they were not notified.

[beehive21-2009]

The families should refuse to touch the blood money and hang the lawyers,who are displaying lowlife qualities, again.How is it , every tragedy lawyers see a pay day ?

[dinodavid220]

***.....Why would they get money??????? It''s not the states fault. This is stupied,stupied....