The Commercial Appeal

Bombing fund awards $60.9 million

- The Washington Post

The charity fund establishe­d after the Boston Marathon bombings awarded $ 60.9 million Friday to victims of the attacks, including maximum payments of nearly $2.2 million each to two double amputees and the families of the four people slain.

Another 14 people who lost single limbs will receive nearly $1.2 million each. In all, 232 victims will receive payments, said Camille Biros, deputy administra­tor of the One Fund Boston, which has been collecting public donations for the victims.

The statistics that accompany the payments provide the best accounting to date of the human impact of the April 15 attack, though some injured people might not have applied for compensati­on. Authoritie­s have said that more than 260 people were injured in the blasts.

Sixty-nine people who were hospitaliz­ed for at least one night will receive six-figure payouts that range from $125,000 for the 18 people who spent one or two nights in a medical facility to $948,000 for the 10 victims who spent 32 nights or more. Some members of that group are still in rehab hospitals.

Another 143 people who were treated at hospitals but did not require admission will receive $8,000 each, Biros said.

The size of the awards was determined by attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who has decided compensati­on after other disasters, including the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In this case, the lump sum, tax-free payments were awarded regardless of individual income or medical costs, and recipients did not have to relinquish their right to sue.

The fund is intended to help victims, some of whom face a lifetime of medical costs, with their immediate needs.

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