Hansen & Rosasco, LLP

A tragic trend that is becoming more and more common is that a 9/11responder or survivor (an area resident, worker, or student) dies before their September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) is decided. At this point, the family of the 9/11 victim needs answers to many questions: Does the 9/11 VCF claim continue? Is the family entitled to additional compensation? What if the deceased victim had a will or trust? Does the family need to go to the Surrogate’s Court? Read on for more information.

The World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) is completely separate from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF). The WTCHP makes the medical decision following the guidelines in an administrative manual if a person’s exposure downtown is linked to their later cancer or other illness and, if the link is made, issues a letter that “certifies” the disease as eligible for lifetime treatment in the Program. The VCF, a compensation and not a medical program, relies on this WTCHP certification to determine if a person has a health condition that may be eligible for compensation — the first of many other requirements that must be met before a decision is made to award compensation.

If you were at Ground Zero or in lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001, worked at the site or downtown Manhattan in the weeks following, or lived or attended school in the affected area and have suffered a respiratory condition as a result of your exposure to toxic dust and fumes in the air around Ground Zero following the attacks, the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund and the World Trade Center Health Program can provide you tax-free compensation for your injuries and free medical care for the rest of your life. Read on for more information.

The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF), like any case in civil or criminal court, does not require you to have a lawyer. That said, submitting a complete VCF claim can be daunting given the Fund’s long history and the complexity created by its multiple versions and amendments over the years—from the original VCF law enacted in 2001, to the Zadroga Act that reopened the Fund in 2011, and then the amendments in 2015 and 2019.

Every New Yorker remembers the massive dust cloud that spread from the site of the World Trade Center when the buildings fell on 9/11. That dust, along with the fumes from the months of fires at the WTC site, covered all of lower Manhattan until at least the end of May 2002. Breathing this toxic dust over the days and many months has since damaged the health of the first responders who went to the site for the rescue and recovery operations along with the New Yorker’s who went back downtown to their jobs, homes, and school.

Malignant neoplasm of the breast—also known as malignant breast cancer—is the most common cancer in women exposed to the toxic dust and fumes near Ground Zero on 9/11. In the most recent report, the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) noted that female breast cancer was definitely linked to 9/11 exposure in 321 first responders and 1,079 downtown “survivors”–Lower Manhattan area residents, students, and regular workers. Although much more rare and much less talked about, many men get breast cancer each year in this country and a fairly high percentage of them will die from it.

The 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centers released toxic chemicals, including asbestos, into the air. Many of the people who inhaled dust from the 9/11 attacks, including first responders, residents and workers in Lower Manhattan, and workers who helped remove those materials after the attacks, have since shown symptoms of asbestos exposure, including mesothelioma. Since it can take between 10 and 50 years for symptoms of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related conditions to emerge, more victims will continue to come forward with symptoms related to the attacks.

Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives on 9/11 during the worst terrorist attack in recorded history. Since then, several thousand people have died because of 9/11-related illnesses and cancers, including residents who lived in the area in the months that followed the attacks. 

VCF Awards and Medical Care for Out-of-State Responders

On September 11, 2001, as the Twin Towers collapsed, thousands of men and women first responders rushed to the pile to help. Many of those first responders were groups of out-of-state responders and volunteers who quickly made their way to the disaster site when most would have rushed away. In the face of danger, first responders, construction workers, and volunteers from our surrounding states (and from many states across the country), counties, and towns rushed to aid New York City and its residents, workers, and students. Even as the days and months passed, many out-of-state responders stayed or continued to come to help in the cleanup and recovery at Ground Zero.