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Subscribe to RSSThe families of the people killed and some other victims of July's movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colo., will soon receive money from a fund set up to help them after mediator Kenneth Feinberg finalized payment decisions Friday.
The Aurora Victim Relief Fund closed Thursday with a final balance of $5,338,360, according to The Denver Post. The families of the 12 deceased individuals and five victims with permanent brain damage or physical paralysis will each get $220,000, which amounts to 70 percent of the funds, the newspaper reported.
The other 30 percent of the funds will be distributed to victims who suffered physical injuries, based on how many days they were in the hospital, Denver's NBC-affiliate KUSA reported.
On July 20, shooting suspect James Holmes allegedly killed 12 and wounded 58 others, at a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" in Denver-suburb Aurora.
Feinberg, who is well-known for mediating the Sept 11. victim's compensation fund, worked with the office of Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, the victims, the fund's co-creators and a nonprofit, according to The Denver Post.
“These payments won’t replace loved ones who died or completely heal all wounds,” Gov. John Hickenlooper said in a statement. “But through the generosity of others we hope victims and their families can use this money to continue their recovery."
Feinberg approved 38 out of 57 filed claims, according to KUSA. The 19 denied claims did not qualify under previously announced protocols, KUSA reported.
Because of the limited amount of money, victims who did not require overnight hospitalization and claims for mental trauma were not compensated. However, the governor's office noted that "free counseling for all victims is still available."
Feinberg received no payment for his services and is working on a final report about the fund, which expected to be released in December.
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Believe me this is just the tip of the iceberg, there still the suit against the theater, gun maker, ammunition, possibly the city, county and state.
They might,but they won't win. There is to much at stake. The only ones that will win will be the lawyers. They'll drag it out forever.
In highly doubt that the lawsuit against the theater owner or any of the others you mention will be successful. These types of suits have been tried before and they always fail. I am aware that some victims are trying to sue the theater owner, but this suit is highly unlikely to be successful. The victims might wind up with some small amount if the theater owner's insurance carrier decides that they can reach a settlement that is less expensive than litigating, but even this is unlikely because they will not want to set the precedent. There has never been a case where a gun maker or ammunition maker has been held responsible for a criminal using one of their weapons or ammunition they manufacture to shoot people. As for the theater, there is no legitimate basis for any lawsuit against them. What happened was not foreseeable and the theater had appropriate security for a business of their type. A suit against the local or state government is equally absurd as they had no information that could have been used to prevent this. About the only other party that might be reasonably held responsible would be the psychiatrist who was treating the shooter and then only if it can be shown that she should have known that the shooter was going to commit a crime like this. From what I have read there was no such indication, so I do not see her being held responsible either. Unfortunately, when things like this happen the victims normally do not get much in the way of compensation at all. In this case, because it was such a high profile event that got so much media attention, the victims are getting a fairly significant amount of compensation. Under normal circumstances the victims of violent crimes are lucky to see a few thousand dollars from victims compensation funds.
Some people believe when there is money involved never give up, at least until the last standing attorney refuses to take your case for a cut.
What model was his planned getaway car? They should sue the automaker, too. Did he wear contacts, if so what brand? Add them to the list. If they didn't make those contacts he wouldn't have been able to see the victims to be able to shoot them.
So how much did the NRA and its members chip in? the gun shop? ammo dealers?
$5.3 M is peanuts for carnage at that level.
I wish I would have got an email for this. It sounds like it wasn't advertised very well. I'm sure the NRA was aware of the fundraiser. They could have boosted this a bunch.
Goldfish - the victims fund was promoted in the news at the time of the tragedy.
why should the NRA have to contribute? Because you don't like the fact citizens are allowed to bear arms? Get a life troll
Like Chicago has done recently, there should be a 'violence tax' on all gun sales. Chicago has recently approved a $25 per handgun tax. I believe in Chicago's case it is planned to be used for law enforcement expenses related to dealing with gun violence. I think there should be a 'victim fund fee' on each handgun sale for contributing to a fund that would compensate innocent victims of crimes such as this one, where the deranged individual, who got the gun legally or not, would not have been able to commit so much violence without such a powerful weapon. The violent crime rate in the US is about 7 times higher than other developed nations that do not have such high gun availability, so it would be fair to assume that 1 out of 7 of these crimes would have happened anyway, and that 6 out of 7 of these gun crimes would not have happened if there wasn't a gun readily available. The disbursement could be calculated at some similar ratio.
Seems fair to me. People who want guns can still have them, but innocent victims would at least be able to get some sort of compensation when they fall victim to a gun crime or accidental death/injury which would be far less likely to happen without the broad availability of guns.
This is absurd, the idea of forcing law abiding citizens to pay for crimes committed by others is bull@!$%#. Most gun purchasers use the weapons they purchase in a completely lawful manner. While there have been a few high profile instances of legally purchased weapons being used in crimes, the huge percentage of gun violence is committed with weapons that are obtained illegally. I also do not buy your statistics about the violent crime rate in the US being 7 times higher than other developed nations. Please provide a legitimate and reliable source for this assertion, and not some anti-gun organization web site.
Guns are expensive so most people who purchase guns legitimately can probably afford the extra $25. The argument put forward for years by the NRA representing law abiding responsible gun owners is that law enforcement should focus on illegal guns and criminals who obtain guns illegally. Effective law enforcement costs money - public money. This tax is simply a way for law abiding gun purchasers to support the efforts of law enforcement in targeting criminals so the rights of law abiding gun owners are not infringed.
and when are we going to start a Death from DUI Tax on alcohol? $25 per bottle should be sufficient I think.
A shame I didn't know about this fundraiser. I would have donated.
How they can hold the theater responsible for the acts of a mad man is beyond me. Why don't they sue his mother or his teachers. At least they played a role in creating this killer.
I agree. Unless there is any evidence that the theater somehow facilitated the violence, had prior knowledge that this nut had plans to kill people there and did nothing to stop it, I do not see how the theater can be held responsible. It would make more sense to sue the makers of the Batman movie. After all, his violence was inspired by the movie, not the theater. (And no, I don't think the makers of the movie should be sued either.)
If the theater is sued, and they lose, doesn't that mean all businesses then have to check every customer for weapons in order to avoid lawsuits should some idiot enter and start shooting people? Is that really how we want commerce to work in America? That would drive everyone to buy as much as possible online and would kill brick & mortar businesses.
Actually facilitated by the NRA.
Patient: "I'm really depressed"
Councilor/Therapist: "Go out and buy a gun, it will solve all your problems"
Seems like a lot of people are sue crazy. The want of money is one of life's deadly sins. Granted the victims should get assistance and the 5 mil fund is intended for that. But to sue the theater, gun manufacturer, etc..is plain ridiculous and likely wont stand in court. The liability falls on the shooter only. BTW I am working in Denver and drive past the theater (east side of Town East Mall) daily and I noticed that the building is getting a face lift. Apparently the theater will reopen with a new facade and interior remodel. In an article on MSNBC it was mentioned right after the event happened on July 20th that the area was less than safe and seedy. To the contrary. The area around the mall (Alameda, Mississippi, Sable, streets) is very nice and secure. A very nice and somewhat older part of Denver. You can't believe what you read in these articles. There are a few Hispanic males walking around with their pants hanging down to their ankles but they are no threat to anyone. Just a bunch of idiots. However, most American cities have this sort of thing. Except Detroit, don't go to Detroit (or New Orleans). I dislike those cities.