ORLANDO, Fla. — Leaders in charge of the OneOrlando Fund explained Thursday how they will compensate the families of the 49 people who were killed and the 53 people who were injured in the Pulse nightclub on June 12.
The goal of the OneOrlando fund is for those who were impacted by pain and suffering, rather than reimbursement for expenses, according to one of the fund managers at Thursday's town hall meeting.
The plan will be finalized in eight days, and all claims must be submitted by Sept. 12.
Payments are expected to start being issued by Sept. 27.
The families of the 49 people killed will get the largest payments. The victims who were admitted to the hospital with injuries will get the next-largest payments on a scale.
“The longer you were in the hospital, the more money will be received,” said Kenneth Feinberg, OneOrlando Fund administrator.
The next two levels of victims, those who received hospital treatment without being admitted, and those who were inside Pulse at the time Omar Mateen opened fire, could receive the same level of compensation.
Some victims were trampled while escaping, but went for treatment after the 24-hour period spelled out in the draft protocol.
That’s what Edwin Rivera said happened to him. Now he might need surgery and said he’s confused about the level of compensation he’ll receive.
“They need to work something out,” Rivera said.
“The problem you have all the time in these horrible tragedies is, where do you draw the line? You can’t give people the minimum amounts of money, it has to be a meaningful amount,” Feinberg told Channel 9’s Kathi Belich.
“People would like closure to these issues and as a result of getting it done more quickly, it allows people to finalize this part of it,” said Orlando attorney Hans Kennon.
Kennon, an insurance specialist, said limiting compensation to victims who were at Pulse at the time of the mass shooting is not an uncompassionate decision, but an economic one, to make sure those who need financial help get it.
He said he does foresee possible complications with claims involving those who were killed.
Personal representatives of the unmarried must be designated by the courts, who will then prepare a proposed plan of distribution of the funds among the decedent’s legal heirs and beneficiaries, each of whom must consent in writing to the proposed distribution.
It all has to be done in the next five and a half weeks.
“Someone who did not want to agree with the family members could file a petition and ask the court to direct the fund to hold the money while there’s a resolution of that dispute between the family members,” Kennon said.
It appears there will be flat amounts for each of the four categories of victims.
OneOrlando is not offering any advice as to whether taxes are owed on the payments.
The balance as of Sept. 26 will be divided up.
The city said there is $20 million in hand, including GoFundMe donations, and another $7 million in pledges as of Wednesday.
Contact Kathi Belich for more on this story.
Cox Media Group
