ROANOKE, Va.
Most families of victims of the mass shootings at Virginia Tech have agreed to an $11 million state settlement that will compensate families who lost loved ones, pay survivors’ medical costs and avoid a court battle over whether anyone besides the gunman was to blame.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said a “substantial majority” of families of victims of the Virginia Tech shootings agreed to the settlement.
Peter Grenier and Douglas Fierberg, who represent 21 families, said the settlement was worth more than $11 million, but neither they nor the governor would discuss its terms until final papers are drawn in a few days.
Grenier and Fierberg said seriously injured victims “will be well compensated and have their health care needs taken care of forever,” and that families who lost loved ones would be “similarly compensated and cared for.”
Seung-Hui Cho, a mentally disturbed student, killed 32 victims and wounded two dozen others at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007 before committing suicide. Twenty-two families had previously filed notice with the state that they may sue.
Cho killed two people in a dormitory, then killed 30 more than two hours later in a classroom building before taking his own life. University officials have been criticized for waiting about two hours before informing students and employees about the first shootings, which police initially thought were an act of domestic violence.
The gunman had been ruled a danger to himself during a court commitment hearing in 2005 and was ordered to receive outpatient mental health care, but never received treatment.
Attorney General Bob McDonnell’s office had no comment on the settlement, spokesman Tucker Martin said.
It was not immediately clear whether the settlement was significantly different from an earlier state proposal, the details of which were obtained last month by The Associated Press. That proposed deal totaled roughly $8.5 million plus the cost of reimbursing and paying for medical and psychological treatment for victims’ families and survivors.
