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idirtify
12-22-2010, 10:35 AM
What’s with this “9-11 health care bill”??? Wasn’t the mass sickness due to a complete failure on the part of the EPA & NSC? And wasn’t that failure in the form of intentional and malicious LIES. So when government fails, the taxpayers are punished??? What’s with that? Why can’t we sue the personal accounts of the government employees who were guilty of negligence reckless endangerment, intentional recklessness, malicious wrongdoing, fraud, etc? That’s pretty much the way it works in the real world. Besides, since government people are supposed to be held to a higher standard of conduct, their persons should not have any kind of corporate-like liability protection. From what I know, there is no clearer case for liability than with EPA chief Christie Whitman and National Security Council head Condoleeza Rice – and all the other government people who were culpable/complicit. I’m sure any small investigation would reveal that all responsible persons have substantial accumulations of wealth which would be entirely vulnerable to civil-suit judgments. I say, sue them all into the gutter! That’s where anybody who does such a terrible thing to so many people belongs. How about a "bill" for that!

Daamien
12-22-2010, 10:59 AM
Generally, a sovereign government cannot be sued unless it allows itself to be sued. In the United States, Congress has passed the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) in 1948 allowing the U.S. government to be sued for the tortious negligence of its employees that causes personal injury or property damage.

Prior to bringing a lawsuit under the Federal Tort Claims Act, it is required that a written claim be presented to the offending government agency. After the written claim is presented, six months must pass before a lawsuit may be filed in United States District Court. If the claim is denied in writing by the agency, the claimant must file suit within six months of the date of denial.

Generally, a written claim must be presented within two years of reasonable knowledge of the cause and existence of the injury, even for minors and incompetents. There are numerous other details and restrictions under the FTCA and it is advisable to have an attorney represent you in this potentially complicated area of the law. Other laws that allow claims to be made against the United States government, but do not allow a lawsuit may also apply such as the Military Claims Act (MCA) and Foreign Claims Act (FCA).

So basically it takes a long time to go through the courts and given how all money is fungible, the resulting settlement or damages decided through legal action would also come from taxpayers. I do agree with you though that it's more appropriate to go through the courts and I'm sure some lawyers would provide their services pro-bono for such cases. However, many individuals who wanted to "serve their country" on 9-11 by responding to the disaster will be hesitant to later sue their government, as they may view that as unpatriotic (despite the fact that government != country).

idirtify
12-22-2010, 04:31 PM
So basically it takes a long time to go through the courts and given how all money is fungible, the resulting settlement or damages decided through legal action would also come from taxpayers. I do agree with you though that it's more appropriate to go through the courts and I'm sure some lawyers would provide their services pro-bono for such cases. However, many individuals who wanted to "serve their country" on 9-11 by responding to the disaster will be hesitant to later sue their government, as they may view that as unpatriotic (despite the fact that government != country).

Wow, that’s some good info. Thanks.

“Fungible”? Yeah but taking the wealth (private holdings) of government employees responsible for the damages would not be ANOTHER tax (like this stupid bill will be). It would only be moneys PREVIOUSLY acquired through taxation.

oyarde
12-22-2010, 04:33 PM
This is a New York matter and there should be no bill.