Hansen & Rosasco, LLP

Due to the large number of potential future 9/11 victims, and exponential medical cost growth primarily to cancer treatment, there was a proposed additional $3.6 billion budget for the WTC Health Program in the recent federal Omnibus Bill to cover the projected WTC Health Program gap in funding by 2024. To our dismay, this $3.6 billion proposal to fund the WTC Health Program was originally omitted completely from the recent $1.7 trillion Omnibus spending bill that will fund the government through the end of the fiscal year.

MYTH: The 9/11 VCF is only for first responders.
FACT: Anyone in downtown Manhattan – including area workers, residents, teachers, students, volunteers, construction workers, rescue workers, and first responders – is eligible to apply to the VCF for compensation and the WTC Health Program for lifetime health benefits.

The 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) recently provided new written guidance to help Goldman Sachs employees prove that they were in the “NYC 9/11 Exposure Zone” on 9/11 or anytime in the eight months after. Past and current employees of Goldman Sachs in New York, NY are being diagnosed with one or more of the 68 types of cancer that have been proven to be caused by exposure to toxins in the air on and after September 11th.

A recent study published in the medical journal JAMA Oncology reveals that death rates for uterine cancer are on the rise, particularly among Black women. The study comes just as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has proposed adding uterine cancer to the list of illnesses linked to toxic exposure at Ground Zero.

​In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the health impact on the first responders and the hundreds of thousands of downtown area workers, residents and others was both immediate and far-reaching, often not felt until many years later. This post explains some lingering and newly diagnosed health effects of 9/11, such as many types of cancer, commonly experienced by first responders and those living, working, attending school, or visiting the area when the attacks occurred. For more information, please reach out to a 9/11 VCF lawyer.

 Respiratory and Digestive Issues

The “World Trade Center cough” was one of the first signs of exposure incurred at Ground Zero and the surrounding area. Doctors initially recognized the cough within the first six months after the attacks among members of FDNY and other responders who worked on rescue and recovery efforts at the debris pile. The condition included a persistent cough and other respiratory and digestive issues, including labored breathing, nasal congestion, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). For more information, please contact a 9/11 VCF lawyer.

Around 400,000 people worked, lived, and went to school in downtown NYC when the twin towers collapsed. in 2001. Recent data confirms that only about 8% (32,000) of these workers, residents, and students who were exposed to the 9/11 toxic fallout have benefitted from the twin 9/11 health and compensation programs. This leaves 368,000 downtown workers, residents and students who are likely eligible for lifetime 9/11 healthcare and tax-free compensation who likely do not know that they qualify.

Over 400,000 people who worked, lived, or went to school in lower Manhattan  inhaled toxic dust during the year after September 11th. The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) compensates those exposed to the toxic dust  for all losses from 9/11-related physical conditions, including pain and suffering. This explains how the VCF calculates economic loss to determine the amount of compensation awarded. For more information, please contact a 9/11 VCF lawyer.

There are various health effects of 9/11 first responders and survivors. 500,000 people were in the area near Ground Zero when the terrorist attacks occurred on September 11th, 2001. That total included around 360,000 people visiting or working inside area office and retail buildings, 91,000 responders and volunteers working on rescue and recovery operations, 57,000 area residents, and 15,000 children and staff in schools located south of Canal Street.

Two decades after the collapse of the World Trade Center spread a toxic dust plume of pulverized concrete, jet fuel, burning plastics, asbestos, heavy metals, and many other toxic and carcinogenic substances, over 100,000 people  have developed severe health problems linked to 9/11 toxic dust. Many of them – the first responders and downton workers, residents, students, and others – tragically suffer from 9/11  related eye and orbit cancer. For more information, please contact a 9/11 VCF lawyer.