Questions Raised About Non Payment Of 9-11 Claims

Monday, December 3rd 2007, 9:21 pm

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal officials are questioning why a $1 billion insurance fund created by Congress after the Nine-Eleven attacks is fighting the claims of workers who were sickened at Ground Zero.

The Homeland Security Department's inspector general says he'll conduct an inquiry to determine why claims are being litigated instead of settled.

The top lawyer for New York City defends the lawsuits, saying the World Trade Center Captive Insurance Company is not a compensation fund. He says, as an insurance company, it's obligated to defend against legal claims.

Roughly 8,000 individual claims related to Nine-Eleven are still awaiting judgment in the federal court system.