Kin of seven 9/11 victims keep up fight for answers
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/na...icleid=1044303
By Joe Dwinell
Tuesday, November 13, 2007 - Updated 7h ago
Out of the nearly 3,000 Americans murdered Sept. 11, only seven families are still pushing for their day in court to further question how 19 hijackers brought a nation to its knees.
In the past week, 10 cases have been settled out of court, including the suit filed by the family of Rhode Island’s David Angell, 55, the executive producer of the NBC series “Frasier” who died on American Airlines [AMR] Flight 11 along with his wife.
The seven cases remaining include at least one death from each of the four flights that crashed in New York, at the Pentagon or in Pennsylvania.
Attorney Don Migliori, whose firm represents the remaining seven families, said the last few cases have the potential to make courtroom history.
“It’s very possible and probable the folks left will demand a trial,” said Migliori, a Rhode Island partner in the firm Motley Rice.
One of those holding out is Arkansas businessman Mike Low.
“It’s so difficult for me to say ‘I quit.’ I can’t quit for my daughter’s sake,” Low told the Herald.
Low’s 28-year-old daughter, Sara Elizabeth Low, was an attendant on Flight 11. She had just moved into a Beacon Hill apartment before she was killed as the hijacked jet slammed into the World Trade Center in New York.
Low said he still feels helpless knowing his daughter was murdered and he couldn’t help, so he’s looking to the court for answers. "I’m turning to the system and the rule of law ... that’s my right," Low said.
But Low isn’t sure the Manhattan federal judge hearing these last few cases will allow an open trial.
“It’s becoming very disappointing and frustrating,” Low said.
The federal compensation fund paid out 2,880 claims to families of 9/11 victims, awarding them an average of $2.1 million. About 90 others opted to sue and all but seven of those have settled out of court with the airlines and security industry for undisclosed sums.
The families left want to expose in open court the security failures of 9/11, says Migliori.
"Sept. 11 was preventable had adequate attention been given to checkpoint security."
Reply With Quote