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Should
I Seek Free Legal Help From Trial Lawyers Care?
Congress established the September 11th Victim
Compensation Fund to provide a less complicated
way to compensate eligible victims who were physically
injured or who lost their loved ones during the
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Trial Lawyers
Care, a non-profit organization, was established
to provide victims making claims under the Fund
with free legal services.
Given the complex nature of each family tragedy
and the formal method for making a claim under the
Fund, having a lawyer is probably a good idea. But
the question of whether to have a Trial Lawyers
Care attorney free of charge is one only you can
answer. There are several other things to consider
before deciding to work with a Trial Lawyers Care
attorney who will represent you without charge:
- Of course, the first consideration is determining
whether you are eligible to make a claim under
the Victim Compensation Fund. Reading the Frequently
Asked Questions may help you determine this.
- In addition, you must consider that seeking
legal advice may help to assure that no time limits
(statutes of limitation) are missed. Congress
has said that all claims under the Fund must be
filed within two years from the date that Fund
procedures are established, which may be no later
than December 21, 2001.
- Also, please remember that if the claim is
to be filed with the Victim Compensation Fund
on behalf of someone who died as a result of the
September 11, 2001 terrorist activities, only
a “personal representative” can do so. And sometimes,
it can take a long time for a “personal representative”
to be legally designated.
- In addition, you should know that by filing
a claim for compensation from the Fund, claimants
will give up their right to file a September 11-related
lawsuit (or to be a party to such a lawsuit) against
any party except 1) “any person who is
a knowing participant in any conspiracy to hijack
any aircraft or commit any terrorist act,” or
2) “to recover collateral source obligations,”
(in other words, to recover money owed by insurance
companies, etc).
Of course, victims are not required to use the
Fund. Victims may instead seek compensation through
the courts. However, if you have already decided
that you wish to file a tort lawsuit instead of
seeking compensation from the Fund, you will need
to retain your own lawyer. The free legal services
offered by Trial Lawyers Care-assigned lawyer are
only for people who pursue compensation under the
Fund.
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