MGM Resorts Agree To Pay Up To $800 Million To Las Vegas Mass Shooting Victims in Settlement
Two years after Stephan Paddock sprayed gunfire on country music fans from the high-rise Mandalay Bay hotel, MGM Resorts International reached a settlement that could pay up to $800 Million to families of the 58 people who died and hundreds of others who were injured, attorneys announced Thursday.
The settlement will resolve hundreds of lawsuits in multiple states that seek compensation for a range of physical and psychological injuries from the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history and comes just two days after the anniversary of the Oct. 1, 2017, massacre.
Victims say the casino giant failed to protect 22,000 people at a concert venue when the 64-year-old retired accountant and high-stakes video poker player fired out the windows of his hotel room into the crowd.
Stephen Paddock killed himself as authorities closed in, and they found 23 assault-style weapons in his room, many equipped with bump stocks that allow firearms to fire rapidly like machine guns.
A clear motive was never determined.
Here’s more on the story.
According to KTLA, the settlement creates the third-largest victims compensation fund in U.S. history, according to a claims administrator who has doled out money in major attacks and disasters.
Kenneth Feinberg, who wasn’t involved in the Las Vegas deal, said he oversaw $7.1 billion in victim compensation after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and $6.5 billion following the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The amount of the settlement depends on the number of plaintiffs who take part, according to attorneys who represent thousands of people with claims against MGM.
The lawyers expect to wrap up the settlement by late next year, a timeline that Feinberg called “very realistic.” Attorneys will get some of the money, but they wouldn’t say how much.
No amount can replace the lives that were lost but hopefully this will help the victims and families in their healing.
