Last of State Fair Relief Fund distributed to victims Monday

The victim compensation expert in charge of the State Fair Relief Fund held a meeting Monday to discuss the status of the fund.  

Kenneth Feinberg and other officials announced 28 of 56 claimants were approved for payments.

The fund will pay out $400,000 in compensation to victims of the stage collapse at this summer’s Indiana State Fair by Monday.  Previously, $564,000 was paid out to victims who spent at least one night in the hospital. Monday’s payments zero out the fund’s balance.

The State Fair Relief Fund was a collection of donations that totaled to more than $978,000. The money was raised through donations, State Fair revenues and money collected from an October tribute concert by the band Sugarland.

The funds were distributed to victims  based on the following factors:

•    $35,000 for death claims
•    $25,000 for those admitted and hospitalized for at least 10 days and nights
•    $7,500 for those admitted and hospitalized for 4-9 days and nights
•    $3,000 for those admitted and hospitalized for 1-3 nights and days

The Indiana State Fair Committee said payments have been distributed to claimants within 48 hours of being processed. 

Victims who were injured in the stage collapse and not hospitalized did not receive money from the fund. 

"I don't think that it’s right because we did have injuries," said Lisa Hite who was injured along with her granddaughter in the collapse but was released from the emergency room on doctors' orders. "My opinion is we should’ve been kept overnight at least for observation with head injuries but they did not do that."

Hite estimates her out-of-pocket costs in excess of $50,000 and said her granddaughter continues undergoing counseling. Hite will likely sue the state and others connected with the tragedy to recover enough money to pay her medical bills.

"There is a limited amount of money," said Feinberg. "You have to make solomanic judgments on how to distribute the money. It’s not easy and I think we did the best we could."

Officials said 87 percent of the funds were paid to the estates of the seven people killed in the tragedy and to those who spent ten nights or more in the hospital.