How can you put a price on the loss of a limb? Could you calculate the cost of debilitating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? What about the death of a loved one — what would that be worth to you? Attorney and mediation specialist Ken Feinberg has overseen numerous compensation funds for the victims of 9/11, the BP oil spill, the Pulse Nightclub shooting, and the Boston Marathon bombing as the administrator of One Fund Boston. Feinberg’s job is to put a price on pain.
Feinberg joined Boston Public Radio on Marathon Monday to talk about how he distributed the money of One Fund Boston to the victims of the marathon bombing and the emotional toll his job can take.
One Fund Boston raised $80 million from contributions from more than 200,000 donations following the bombing. As the administrator of the fund, Feinberg was tasked with distributing that money to the 260 people who were wounded, the families of the four people who were killed, and the many more people who claimed to have PTSD or lost money as a result of the Boston bombing.
“You think $80 million is a lot of money, but when you have 260 physically injured victims and you start trying to allocate that money, you quickly find out that there is simply not enough money to pay everybody who claims mental injury," said Feinberg. “What drives eligibility in cases like this is how much money is there to distribute, that is the key.”
While Feinberg has become proficient and adept to allocating money to victims, the emotional interactions he has with the victims continues to be the hardest part of his job. “It is very debilitating,” said Feinberg. "You have to give [ the victims ] the right to be heard if they want, and that part of it, where you sit and listen to sobbing mothers, fathers sisters, brothers, victims, that takes a toll. Unless you have a heart of stone, you can’t help but be impacted."
Click the audio player above to listen to the interview with Ken Feinberg.
