(Indianapolis, Ind.) - The families of the seven people killed when the stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fair in August will receive at least $300,000 each from the State of Indiana.
Attorney General Greg Zoeller made the announcement Tuesday, saying the decision was difficult due to the state's $5 million overall cap on the payouts. The state was assisted in deciding how to divide up the payments by attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who administered victim compensation funds after 9/11, the Virginia Tech shootings and the BP Gulf oil spill.
"No amount of money ever can replace lives lost or alleviate anguish endured by the victims of the Indiana State Fair tragedy. Because state law limits the amount the state can pay to $5 million per incident or $700,000 per individual and we are legally obligated to defend those limits, we had to make extremely difficult decisions about which injured victims would receive payment out of the limited pool of funds available. With the benefit of Mr. Feinberg's expertise, my office has done everything possible to allocate these settlement offers fairly, equitably and humanely," Zoeller said.
The attorney general said the 58 people who were injured in the collapse will also receive money from the state.
According to a news release, the computation works out to payments that are approximately 65 percent of the value of medical bills victims documented when they submitted their claims to the State. Every seriously injured victim who submitted medical records will receive an offer of settlement.
Attorney Tony Patterson is representing some of the 50 families in a lawsuit against the state. Because of the cap, he said, the payments are nowhere near enough money for the victims of the stage collapse.
“The offers to the folks that I’m working with don’t come close to paying their medical bills and so I think most people are in that same boat,” Patterson said.
To accept they payments from the state, victims and the next of kin of those who died will have to sign a form that released Indiana from any liability by December 12, with the money going out by the end of the month.
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