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Virginia Tech Shooting Victims? Families Agree to $11 Million Settlement

By Jack Lebowitz, Esq. and Vadim Mzhen, Esq.

Nearly one year after the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech that left 32 people dead and two dozen others injured, the families of most of the victims have agreed to settle with the state for $11 million.

By agreeing to the settlement, they forego the option of filing personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits against the university, the state of Virginia, the local governments that serve Virginia Tech, and the local community board that provides mental health services.

The settlement will provide compensation to families that lost loved ones and cover injured survivors? medical expenses. Attorneys for 21 families that have agreed to settle say the value of the settlement is greater than $11 million. They say that the settlement would forever take care of the medical costs of the victims that suffered catastrophic injuries, while also well compensating the families that lost loved ones in the shootings.

The families that have not agreed to take part in the settlement have until April 16 to file their lawsuits, which could result in a court disagreement over whether or not the shooter was solely responsible for the slayings.

The Virginia Tech massacre took place on April 16, 2007, when Seung-Hui Cho, a student with mental issues, killed two people in a campus dorm before shooting down 30 others in a school building two hours later. He then committed suicide.

The University has been criticized for not letting students, teachers, and others know about the first shootings. Police say they thought the dorm slayings were an isolated incident involving domestic violence. In 2005, a court had ruled that Seung-Hui Cho was a danger to himself and ordered that he receive outpatient mental health care?treatment that he never received.

If someone you love has died or was injured in a tragic accident that you believe was caused by someone?s negligence, recklessness, or carelessness, you and your loved one may be entitled to compensation and other associated costs.

The best way to protect your rights to compensation is to contact an experienced Maryland or Washington D.C. personal injury lawyer right away.

Most families of Va. Tech shooting victims settle, Los Angeles Times, April 11, 2008

Families of Va. Tech victims reach $11M settlement, Baltimore Sun, Associated Press, April 10, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Massacre at Virginia Tech, CNN.com

Virginia Tech

Contact Lebowitz & Mzhen today.

Full post as published by Maryland Accident Law Blog on April 14, 2008 (boomark / email).