Hansen & Rosasco, LLP

How Is It Different From the WTC Health Program?

In the two decades since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in Lower Manhattan, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, researchers have sought answers to questions about the long-term health impacts of exposure to toxic materials at the attack sites. At the same time, the federal government has worked to ensure that impacted individuals have access to health care and monitoring for conditions linked to those exposures.

Thousands of people died on September 11, 2001, in the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Hundreds of thousands more suffered physical and emotional harm as a result of the disaster. There has never been a deadlier attack in U.S. history, and the federal government has committed to providing compensation, health care, and medical monitoring for individuals impacted by the attacks until 2090.

Did you know that you can obtain additional compensation for a new 9/11-related diagnosis, even if you have already been compensated through the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) for an existing diagnosis? By properly amending your claim, you may be eligible for additional compensation, even if many years have passed since your initial award.

In 2016, Congress passed a law making it easier for victims of the September 11th  terrorist attacks to sue state sponsors of terrorism for damages. But that law, known as the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), prompted many 9/11 victims and families of those who died to ask: If you participate in a JASTA lawsuit, can you still seek compensation for the expenses and impacts of your 9/11-related illness through a September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) claim?

If You Were in the Exposure Zone After the Terrorist Attacks, the Answer May Surprise You

On September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in Lower Manhattan, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, resulted in a tragic loss of life. Hundreds of thousands of more people—particularly those who were near the World Trade Center in New York City on that day and in the months following—suffered toxic exposures from dust and debris. Those exposures are now directly linked to numerous serious illnesses and health complications, including cancer.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, shocked the nation and left many people seriously injured, both as a result of their presence at the Twin Towers and due to their involvement in rescue or cleanup efforts following the attacks themselves. Twenty years later, the nation continues to remember the attacks and those victims.

As the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on New York City, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania approaches, more than 23,000 cases of cancer have been linked to toxic exposure at the attack sites. Additionally, the deaths of more than 1,500 people have been directly linked to these cancers.

In the hours, days, and weeks following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the memberships of dozens of union organizations in New York State and around the nation came forward to provide whatever assistance they could, including a lot of the clean-up efforts at Ground Zero.

As the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks dawns, Congress is working to ensure that there is adequate funding to keep the World Trade Center Health Program running in the face of a substantial funding gap. A newly proposed bill, however, would pump an additional $7.3 billion into the fund to keep the program operational for another 10 years, with an additional 5 percent annual increase after that.

Recently, it was announced that four lawmakers had introduced an act intended to address the funding shortfalls currently being experienced by the WTC Health Program. The 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act was introduced to the House by Representatives Carolyn B. Maloney, Jerrold Nadler, and Andrew Garbarino, as well as to the Senate by Senator Kristin Gillibrand.