Compensation
On August 26, 1994, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it would pay U.S.$100,000 in compensation to the families of each of the non-U.S. personnel killed in the incident. At this time, the U.S. government, citing the Feres precedent, did not offer compensation to the families of the U.S. victims. This was the first time that the U.S. had offered compensation to the victims of a friendly fire incident.
In 1998 Congressman Lamar S. Smith, chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims, held hearings on the compensation issue. He questioned the DoD representatives as to why compensation had not also been offered to the U.S. family members. In November 1999 the U.S. Congress passed legislation authorizing payment of compensation to the families of the American Black Hawk victims.
Read more about this topic: 1994 Black Hawk Shootdown Incident
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