Making sense of the 9/11 responder settlement and new House bill
Back in June the settlement for the 9/11 “first responder” workers seemed pretty clear. We covered it here, noting that BusinessWeek says the judge termed the agreement “a very good deal,” and “signed an order dismissing the lawsuit, and set a June 23 public hearing for claimants and their attorneys to raise any objections. At least 95 percent of the plaintiffs must consent to the agreement for it to become legally binding.”
Judge approved settlement with New York City
At that hearing, according to a June 23 piece at CNN.com, “A U.S. district judge in New York approved a settlement Wednesday that could pay more than $700 million to thousands of 9/11 first responders exposed to toxic dust at ground zero.
“Before approving the settlement Judge Alvin Hellerstein listened to testimony from a sampling of some of the 10,000 plaintiffs at Wednesday’s hearing about the health battles that have plagued them since working at the World Trade Center site.”
House passes new bill, separate from settlement
But today the House passed “legislation to provide billions of dollars for medical treatment to rescue workers and residents of New York City who suffered illnesses from breathing in toxic fumes, dust and smoke at ground zero,” according to a post at the “City Room” page in the The New York Times’ Web site.
How to sort this out–what’s all this mean for victims and taxpayers alike?
Apparently, the legislation aims at filling gaps left by caps that were agreed to in the settlement, including caps on attorney’s fees–which themselves have come under fire.
Legal fees in settlement: $124 million
According to a Sept. 26 piece in the New York Post, “Lawyers hired by the city to fight the Ground Zero lawsuits have socked taxpayers with a $124 million tab — one of the biggest hauls by a single legal team in the history of billable hours, experts say.”
The new legislation’s goals
Major components of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act include:
- reopening the original federal fund and
- providing compensation beyond that awarded in the class-action settlement with the city that was approved by Judge Hellerstein in June.
According to the Times:
In addition, the bill includes a provision that would have allowed money from the Victim Compensation Fund to be paid out to anyone who receives payment under the pending settlement stemming from lawsuits that 10,000 rescue and cleanup workers filed against the city. At the moment, anyone who receives a settlement from the city is limited in how much compensation they can receive from the fund, according to the bill’s sponsors.
Until now, Congress has appropriated money on an annual basis to monitor the health of people injured at ground zero and to provide them with medical treatment.
Settlement deadlines extended
Another crucial component is that the deadline has been extended in the ongoing settlement procedures.
According to a choppily (perhaps hastily) worded press release from the Napoli Bern Ripka law firm:
Deadline extended two months until November 8, 2010 from September 8 to allow plaintiffs more time to consider settlement after unexpected logistical delays.
Over 50% of claimants have already opted-in to the settlement, with less than one-half of one percent opting-out.
James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 amended to enable plaintiffs to accept settlement payments and still be eligible for re-opened Victim Compensation Fund, if Congress approves.
Thousands of responders included
So if you or a family member were one of the tens of thousand–who traveled from across the nation–to be included in the lawsuit, the good news is that now there’s more time to consider whether to opt-in or opt-out. And, of course, more benefits may open up if the federal legislation makes it through the Senate.
According to the Times, “The bill’s fate is unclear in the Senate. Republicans have enough votes to filibuster the measure, and Senate Democrats have not shown great interest in bringing the measure to the floor.”
In the House, the bill garnered a modicum of bipartisan support; 17 Republicans voted yes, in an overall vote of 268 to 160. Three Democrats opposed.
Zadroga and other victims
According to International Business Times, “The bill is named for James Zadroga, a New York City police detective who worked several weeks at Ground Zero, and is the first 9/11 responder to have his death in 2006 attributed to illness contracted at the site.”
The Times says sponsors of the bill contend that “nearly 60,000 people [are] enrolled in a variety of health monitoring and treatment programs related to the 9/11 attacks; the IBT reports that more than “20,000 people, according to government figures, have suffered since the event, either from exposure to the toxic dust of pulverized buildings and combusted chemicals, or injuries, or post-traumatic stress, or two or all three. Says the IBT account:
An estimated 900 people have, like Zadroga, died from diseases contracted at Ground Zero.
Five days following the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, Christie Whitman, the Bush administration’s head of the Environmental Protection Agency, announced at Ground Zero that the air was safe.
“The good news continues to be that air samples we have taken have all been at levels that cause us no concern,” Whitman said.
A month later, when the EPA’s own data was made public, it was shown that Whitman had not told the truth.
A former compensation fund for victims ran out in 2003. Supporters of the Zadroga bill say that many illnesses only came to the fore after the former fund closed, and that many people were only partially compensated by the that fund.
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Frequently enough, a workmen’s compensation case may be so complex as to demand legal representation. However, sometimes what seems like a cut-and-dried situation to an injured worker may result in a smaller award than envisioned–or even a denial. Have you, a friend or a loved one been injured on the job? Whether you’re merely seeking answers about your rights or believe a lawsuit may be necessary, be sure to seek counsel with attorneys trained and experienced in workers’ compensation. Here’s some resources:
