Anthrax victim's family, U.S. reach tentative deal, lawyer says

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The family of a Florida man who was the first to die in the 2001 anthrax attacks has reached a tentative settlement with the U.S. government over his death, a lawyer for the family said Monday.

The family is waiting for word from the Justice Department before a deal is finalized, said Richard Schuler, the lawyer for the family of anthrax victim Robert Stevens. The family sued the government for $50 million in 2003, arguing that the military laboratory in Maryland that was identified as the source of the bacterium should have had tighter security.

"I think the family was vindicated that the government has agreed to settle the case with them in spite of the fact that they put up a lot of roadblocks," Schuler said. Stevens and his wife, Maureen, were married 27 years, and there is "still a hole in her life as far as her husband is concerned," he said.

Schuler would not comment on any details of the tentative deal.

full: http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/31/us/anthrax-settlement/index.html