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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN 9/11 PROGRAMS
When you seek benefits and compensation from the two different 9/11 benefit programs, it is important to understand the differences between the two programs. The World Trade Center Health Program (WTC Health Program) provides free medical monitoring and a lifetime of healthcare for 9/11-related illnesses and cancers. It is not a financial compensation program. In comparison, the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) is a compensation program — it provides for payment of compensation for many breathing and digestive illnesses, plus over 70 different types of cancers.
To obtain compensation from the VCF, your illness must be “certified” by the WTC Health Program as eligible for treatment — that the cancer or other illness was in fact linked to exposure to the 9/11 toxins that were in the air and water until the end of 2001 all the way through the middle of 2002. While you must take this step,obtaining WTC Health Program certification does not guarantee that you will receive VCF compensation. Qualifying for the VCF is more difficult because the “exposure zone” is smaller and there are many additional requirements that must be met before the DOJ Special Master of the VCF makes a compensation award.
OUR FIRM HAS WON HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN 9/11 VCF AWARDS
Which include VCF cancer payouts - for various first
responders and survivors.
Cancers Related to 9/11
After nearly two decades, many Americans think about September 11th as a distant memory. However, for thousands of victims and survivors present near Ground Zero when the Twin Towers fell, the trauma continues. Since the deadly terrorist attacks, over 100,000 people have suffered from a variety of terminal cancers, long-term illnesses, and chronic respiratory conditions.
VCF Program Statistics
Survivor Compensation Determinations
ILLNESSES RELATED TO 9/11
Overall, individuals present in the exposure zone after 9/11 are at an increased risk of suffering from a variety of respiratory illnesses and chronic diseases. In fact, 241 NYPD officers lost their lives after battling 9/11-related illnesses in the 18 years since the attack. This is 10 times more than the actual attack killed on September 11, 2001.
In July 2019, New York lost its 200th firefighter from a World Trade center-related illness. The Uniformed Firefighters Association of New York now lists over 220 9/11-related FDNY deaths. Although cancer is a prominent cause of those deaths, there are also higher rates of cardiovascular disease among first responders and survivors.
Research published in JAMA Network Open found that firefighters who were at Ground Zero on the day of the attack were 44 percent more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than firefighters who arrived the next day.
9/11 RELATED ILLNESSES AND STUDENTS
Students going to school in the area in the days and months following the attack also suffer from more illnesses and disabling breathing conditions. From college students attending Pace University and the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) to high school students at various NYC public schools, many have been diagnosed with leukemia, lung conditions, and PTSD.
This is because they were present the day the World Trade Centers fell. Like everyone near Ground Zero that day, they breathed in the toxic mix of dust and contaminants. Then, just a month later on October 9, 2001, school officials reopened the schools, and students in Lower Manhattan returned. The city promised parents that safety precautions were taken and that their kids would be safe.
However, school officials did not clean out vents in many of the buildings. Fires burned day and night at Ground Zero and toxic debris removed just outside the schools during the day, including right outside Stuyvesant High School. As a result, students breathed in a mix of toxic air and dust for months. In the summer of 2002, school officials found elevated lead levels in the ventilation system.
Nearly 20,000 children went to school below Houston Street on September 11, 2001. Those children now grapple with the concept that they may face life-long and potentially fatal diseases because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Many now face gastroesophageal reflux disease, asthma, and respiratory conditions in their twenties and thirties. Some students now suffer from PTSD as well. Under the WTC Health Program and the VCF, these young adults may be entitled to free healthcare and compensation for the next 70 years.
YOU GAVE ALL AND YOU DESERVE HELP NOW
After 9/11 many first responders including police officers and firefighters rushed to the scene to rescue victims, put out fires, and protect the citizens of New York. Now, those first responders suffer from a variety of chronic and terminal illnesses, such as stage four cancer.
In the days following the attacks, construction workers, EMTs, truck drivers, and volunteers removed debris from the wreckage, cleaned up the streets, transported toxic waste, and cleaned up the city. They too now suffer from life-threatening cancers and chronic disabling breathing conditions.
On September 11, 2001, and in the months following, students, residents, and workers in Lower Manhattan kept the economy afloat. They went back to work, studied, and lived in the toxic soup area below Canal Street in Lower Manhattan. They helped New York get back on its feet in more ways than they realize. They’re heroes, too. Now, they also suffer from a wide range of chronic disabling breathing conditions, long-term illnesses, and cancers.
You helped New York during the tragedy of 9/11, maybe more than you know. Now it is your turn to receive help. Contact 9/11 attorneys at Hansen & Rosasco, LLP today to begin collecting the medical benefits and compensation you deserve.
“A couple guys in my union referred me to them and I’m so happy they did. They took care of me and all my paper work. Got my witness done. Filled my health program app so now I can get free health care. Got me my award settlement. All while being incredibly knowledgeable, patient and kind.” -Frank C.