Labor & Employment Law

After Nine Years, 9/11 Heroes Get Some Help

By James Parks

Nine years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, more than 10,000 heroes who were exposed to toxic debris during the cleanup of the World Trade Center will receive between $625 million and $712 million under a settlement agreement negotiated with New York City and its contractors. 

The agreement was to resolve more than 10,000 lawsuits by 9/11 responders, thousands who became seriously ill as a result of their toxic exposures. The agreement became effective last Friday.

So far, 10,043 of 10,563 plaintiffs had signed on to the agreement, including 98 percent of those claiming the most severe injuries. The settlement includes a compensation fund to resolve personal injury and disease claims by police, firefighters and other rescue, recovery and cleanup workers at the site.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) and members of New York’s congressional delegation applauded the settlement, and urged the Senate to pass the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act (H.R. 487). The bill passed the House by a vote of 268 to 160 with bipartisan support in September. Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) reportedly is blocking the bill. McConnell has taken no public position, but according to published reports, he has privately voiced opposition to the bill. The legislation would provide long-term medical care and monitoring for first responders, recovery workers and others exposed to the Ground Zero toxic mix of chemicals, jet fuel, asbestos, lead, glass fragments and other debris.

Workers like Vito Friscia (see video above), a Brooklyn homicide detective, who was only a block away when the second of the Twin Towers fell. Engulfed in a perilous cloud, he put his life on the line to try to find survivors. Now, Friscia suffers from a deep cough, chronic sinusitis and shortness of breath.

?This settlement is a fair and just resolution of these claims, protecting those who came to the aid of this City when we needed it most,? Bloomberg said in a statement.

We will continue our commitment to treatment and monitoring of those who were present at Ground Zero. This settlement can also help encourage the Senate to follow the lead of their colleagues in the House of Representatives and pass the ?9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which will now be a less expensive proposition due to the payments made under this settlement agreement.

In a joint statement, New York Reps Peter King (R), Carolyn Maloney (D) and  Jerrold Nadler (D) said:

The agreement reached today on the 9/11 settlement is a positive step for many ailing first responders?but the problem isn’t over. Nearly everyone agrees that the settlement does not provide adequate funding to fully compensate those who are injured among the more than 10,500 plaintiffs in this case, nor does it cover the tens of thousands of 9/11 responders and survivors who are injured but have not filed lawsuits.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on November 22, 2010 (boomark / email).