Medical Monitoring Available Under the Zadroga 9-11 Health Compensation Fund

The World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program is funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health under the Zadroga Act which was enacted last year.

MEDICAL TREATMENT for 9/11 responders
The program provides free treatment, including: doctor's visits, diagnostic testing and medications for WTC-covered conditions. Here is a list of covered conditions:

Aerodigestive Disorders

New onset or aggravation of pre-existing conditions for which clinical findings suggest onset is related to WTC exposure/injury:

• Interstitial lung diseases
• Chronic Respiratory Disorder –Fumes/Vapors
• Asthma
• Reactive Airways Dysfunction Syndrome (RADS)
• WTC-exacerbated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Chronic Cough Syndrome
• Upper airway hyperreactivity
• Chronic rhinosinusitis
• Chronic nasopharyngitis
• Chronic laryngitis
• Gastro-esophageal Reflux Disorder (GERD)
• Sleep apnea exacerbated by or related to the above conditions

Mental Health Conditions
New onset or aggravation of pre-existing conditions for which clinical findings suggest onset is related to WTC exposure/injury:

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Major Depressive Disorder
• Panic Disorder
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Anxiety Disorder (not otherwise specified)
• Depression (not otherwise specified)
• Acute Stress Disorder
• Dysthymic Disorder
• Adjustment Disorder
• Substance Abuse

“V codes” (treatments not specifically related to psychiatric disorders, such as marital problems, parenting problems etc.)

Musculoskeletal Disorders
New onset or aggravation of pre-existing conditions for which careful review of symptoms or other clinical information suggests relationship to WTC exposure/injury:

• Low back pain
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)
• Other musculoskeletal disorders

Are you eligible?
This program serves the workers and volunteers who responded to the September 11th attacks. If you did any paid work or volunteered, on or after September 11th, that was directly related to the disaster, you may qualify. To find out whether you are eligible, call 888-702-0630 or download and fill out an eligibility questionnaire and fax it to us at 212-241-1850.

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational and enviornmental exposures. Please contact our office if you require assistance in filing a claim under the newly enacted James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.

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Remembering 9/11

In commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the International Center of Photography (ICP) is collaborating with the National September 11 Memorial Museum (9/11 Memorial Museum) on an exhibition of photography and video that addresses the issues of memory and recovery from disaster and explores how New Yorkers and volunteers from across the U.S. responded to this inconceivable tragedy. Remembering 9/11 will be on view at the International Center of Photography (1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street) from September 9, 2011 to January 8, 2012.

“On the occasion of this important anniversary of the events of 9/11, ICP is pleased to partner with the 9/11 Memorial Museum on an exhibition that honors those who were lost and celebrates the sacrifices of many to recover from those violent acts,” said Willis E. Hartshorn, ICP Ehrenkranz Director. “Photography is, in this case, both a documentary tool to record this process of regeneration and a medium of memorialization and healing.”

Focusing on how firefighters, transit workers, police officers, construction workers, artists, photographers, and World Trade Center (WTC) neighbors worked together in the aftermath of the attacks, the exhibition will include five parts: Memory Remains: 9/11 Artifacts at Hangar 17, a major installation by Francesc Torres; photographs from Eugene Richards’ Stepping Through the Ashes; a five-channel video installation, cedarliberty, by Elena del Rivero and Leslie McCleave; Above Ground Zero, photographs and proof sheets by Gregg Brown; and excerpts from here is new york: a democracy of photographs.

“The work in Remembering 9/11 documents a wealth of different experiences and offers various perspectives on the tragedy and its aftermath. It is the first time some of the work will be exhibited and accessible to the public. Only a handful of Gregg Brown’s extraordinary aerial views of the WTC site, which were commissioned by government agencies right after the attacks, has been seen by general viewers. And Francesc Torres’ installation will be a unique opportunity to see the WTC artifacts that were housed in Hangar 17,” said ICP Curator Carol Squiers, who co-organized the exhibition.

“For years, Hangar 17 has been a repository for stories of loss, courage, heroism, and resiliency that have been told through the recovered WTC steel beams and damaged vehicles,” said Joe Daniels, President and CEO, National September 11 Memorial & Museum. “A year from this year’s opening of the 9/11 Memorial, the world will be able to experience these historic artifacts in the 9/11 Memorial Museum. Our collaboration with ICP offers a window onto the Museum exhibitions we are planning.”

Memory Remains: 9/11 Artifacts at Hangar 17

Francesc Torres’ Memory Remains: 9/11 Artifacts at Hangar 17 is a digital projection installation of 140 photographs taken of the more than 1,500 artifacts removed from the WTC site and preserved inside Hangar 17 at JFK Airport. In Hanger 17, the items were cleaned, catalogued, and arranged in the 80,000 square-foot space, with only a limited number of visitors seeing the collection over the years, including military and police officials and family members of the victims. In April 2009, Torres photographed the collection that had taken shape inside the hangar, including twisted steel beams, crushed emergency and civilian vehicles, the remains of an Alexander Calder sculpture, store merchandise and displays, ID badges, and huge objects dubbed “composites”— compressed fused pieces of building materials, some measuring as much as eight feet on a side and weighing an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 pounds.

“Torres spent five weeks at Hangar 17 in 2009, daily confronting the legacy of terror and the ghosts of Ground Zero,” said Alice M. Greenwald, Director, 9/11 Memorial Museum. “Through Torres’ eyes, we can see the potential for resilience, and the triumph of the human spirit over adversity.”

The Torres work was commissioned for the 9/11 Memorial Museum in 2009. Many of the artifacts from Hangar 17 will be shown at the 9/11 Memorial Museum when it opens in September 2012.

Zadroga Health Fund: Utility Workers Suffer Increased Anxiety

A recent study reveals that utility workers who were deployed at the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster site on 9/11 have an increased level of post traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and depression. The study may significantly increase the potential benefits that utility workers may obtain under the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act (“Zadroga Act”) providing a total of $4.3 billion in health benefits and financial compensation for victims, responders, and other harmed by the attacks of September 11th and its aftermath. 


The report concludes that, nonrescue workers deployed to a disaster site are at risk for PTSD and depression. Extent of exposure affected the most vulnerable workers differently than the least vulnerable ones. These results suggest that the relationship among predictors of PTSD may be different for different vulnerability groups, and underscore the importance of screening, education, and prevention programs for disaster workers. 


Recent attention has begun to be focused on the effects of disaster recovery work on nonrescue workers. The study assesses the prevalence and predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related symptoms in a population of utility workers deployed to the World Trade Center (WTC) site in the aftermath of 9/11.  Utility workers deployed to the WTC site were screened at their place of employment between 10 and 34 months following the WTC attacks, utilizing both structured interviews and self-report measures.


Eligibility for benefits under the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act include those who were World Trade Center victims and First Responders. Under the law those who worked, attended school, childcare and adult day care, may be eligible. The program also covers some who were present in the area of the dust cloud or who lived in the the New York City disaster area. Certain cleanup and maintenance workers are included including tele-communications workers such as Verizon, AT and T and other employees.

Additionally, various respiratory and digestive diseases are being reported including:

1. Interstitial lung diseases.
2. Chronic respiratory disorder--fumes/vapors.
3. Asthma.
4. Reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS).
5. WTC-exacerbated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
6. Chronic cough syndrome.
7. Upper airway hyperreactivity.
8. Chronic rhinosinusitis.
9. Chronic nasopharyngitis.
10. Chronic laryngitis.
11. Gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD).


Like the September 11th Victim Compensation Act of 2001, even if the exposed individuals are living in another state, but were exposed at the NY Disaster Area, the ill individuals may apply for benefits. 


For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered asbestos related disease. Please contact our office if you require assistance in filing a claim under the newly enacted James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.

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• Public Meeting on Implementation of the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• The World Trade Center Health Program Expands The Path to Federalization (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• Our responsibility to all 9/11 victims | Lila Nordstrom(guardian.co.uk)
• Obama signs 9/11 health bill (thehill.com)

Positive Pathological Findings in the Lungs of World Trade Center Patients

The forensic pathological skills of the Mt. Sinai Medical Center (MSMC) in New York have yet again revealed the mysteries of an occupational exposure. MSMC was the medical laboratory of Irving J. Selikoff and sentinel studies on asbestos related disease attributing exposure to asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioms.

MSMC took the early initiative in medically investigating the World Trade Center (WTC) first responders. Following up on the 2001 event MSMC had conducted pathologic evaluations of WTC dust present in lung tissue of a sampling of the lose exposed to WTC dust. It is estimated that between 60,000 to 70,000 responders have been exposed.

"We found that three of the seven responders had severe or moderate restrictive disease clinically. Histopathology showed interstitial lung disease consistent with small airways disease, bronchiolocentric parenchymal disease, and nonnecrotizing granulomatous condition. Tissue mineralogic analyses showed variable amounts of sheets of aluminum and magnesium silicates, chrysotile asbestos, calcium phosphate, and calcium sulfate. Small shards of glass containing mostly silica and magnesium were also found. Carbon nanotubes (CNT) of various sizes and lengths were noted. CNT were also identified in four of seven WTC dust samples."

Click here to read more about the WTC exposures and workers' compensation.

1 month left for 9/11 responders to apply for workers’ comp

First responders and volunteers who helped with 9/11 recovery efforts have only a month left to register for future workers’ compensation benefits in case they fall ill. More than 20,000 people could be eligible, but they must register before Sept. 12. The registration effort is part of the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board’s “Tell Us You Were There” campaign, designed to protect those who helped after the World Trade Center attacks. “Most people are eligible. You should file a WTC-12 form whether you were injured or not and whether you were employed or volunteered,” the board said. “This preserves your right to future benefits, should you ever need them.” Previous legislation guaranteeing the workers’ comp expired Sept. 13, 2010. But last year, Gov. Cuomo signed legislation that extended the deadline and expanded the list of covered illnesses. Now WTC workers or volunteers can get benefits if they develop psychological ailments or illnesses of the upper or lower respiratory or gastroesophageal tracts. The WTC-12 registration form is available at www.wcb.ny.gov/WTC12. Anyone with questions can call (855) WTC-2014. In addition to Ground Zero, qualified applicants can have worked at the Fresh Kills Landfill, on barges or piers or at morgue sites — as long as it was before Sept. 12, 2002. So far, 40,737 people have filled out the form, said Joe Cavalcante, a compensation-board spokesman. There have been 5,165...

[Click here to see the rest of this post]

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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson-Reuters). For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com  have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

Found on

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Health and Compensation Programs Passed Into Law After Almost Decade Long Fight Set to Expire This Year – Participants in 9/11 Health Program Living in All 50 States and 429 of 435 Congressional Districts

After nearly a decade long fight to stand by our first responders who answered the call of duty on September 11th, Congress finally fulfilled its moral obligation in late 2010 and provided our 9/11 heroes with the health care and financial compensation they deserved by passing the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. With the Zadroga bill’s two critical programs – the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program and the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund – set to expire in October 2015 and October 2016 respectively a bipartisan group of lawmakers from across the country today introduced the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act to permanently extend these programs. Last month, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed an amendment to the Senate budget resolution that will facilitate future legislation to renew and extend the Zadroga Act.

WTC P-11 Compensation Fund To Publish Procedure on How to Add Non-Cancer Conditions to List of Eligible Claims

The website of the 9-11 Claims Fund (Zadroga Act) indicates that on March 21, 2014 the Fund will post Policy and Procedures for Adding Non-Cancer Conditions To the List of WTC-Related Health Conditions (6 pages, 352 KB)
Issue Date: March 21, 2014


About this document: This document describes the process for adding non-cancer conditions to the list of WTC-related health conditions.

The document is not yet linked to the new policy and regulations but the listing indicates a roll of potential expansion for the Fund.

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Zadroga Health Fund: Utility Workers Suffer Increased Anxiety

Feb 24, 2011

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New York Dignitaries Celebrate The Zadroga Act Taking Effect

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Signed into law in early January, the Zadroga Act provides sustained funding for the WTC Centers of Excellence and ensures that those facing 9/11-related health problems continue to receive monitoring and treatment ...

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

….
Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson). For over 4 decades theLaw Offices of Jon L Gelman jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have sufferedoccupational accidents and illnesses.

Pulmonary Disease Linked to World Trade Center Disaster

Image via WikipediaA study, recently published, reveals that sarcoid like granulomatous pulmonary disease is present among the WTC responders. More than 20,000 responders have been examined through the World Trade Center (WTC) Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program since September 11, 2001. Studies on WTC firefighters have shown elevated rates of sarcoidosis. The main objective of this study was to report the incidence of “sarcoid like” granulomatous pulmonary disease in other WTC responders.

Cases of sarcoid like granulomatous pulmonary disease were identified by: patient self-report, physician report and ICD-9 codes. Each case was evaluated by three pulmonologists using the ACCESS criteria and only “definite” cases are reported.

Thirty-eight patients were classified as “definite” cases. Six-year incidence was 192/100,000. The peak annual incidence of 54 per 100,000 person-years occurred between 9/11/2003 and 9/11/2004. Incidence in black responders was nearly double that of white responders. Low FVC was the most common spirometric abnormality.

On January 2, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act establishing the World Trade Health Program and extends and expands eligibility for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001.

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered asbestos related disease. Please contact our office if you require assistance in filing a claim under the newly enacted James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.

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The James Zadroga 9/11 Health & Compensation Act of 2010

It Is A Guest Blog Featuring Troy G. Rosaco.......

On January 2, 2011, President Obama signed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act (“Zadroga Act”) providing a total of $4.3 billion in health benefits and financial compensation for victims, responders, and other harmed by the attacks of September 11th and its aftermath.

The Zadroga Act accomplishes two goals important for individuals who suffered injuries or illnesses related to either the actual attacks or the subsequent cleanup.. First, Title I of the Zadroga 9/11Act establishes a comprehensive health plan to monitor and treat injuries suffered by first responders and survivors—including firefighters, police officers, EMT’s, rescue workers, construction workers, cleanup workers, local residents, local area workers, and school children—as the result of the exposure to toxic dust and debris around Ground Zero and other specified areas. Second, Title II of the Zadroga 9/11 Act reopens and expands a number of elements of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001.

Title I - Health Benefits 

There are a number of health programs funded under the Zadroga Act. The new law establishes a new WTC responders medical monitoring and treatment program to provide medical evaluation, monitoring, and treatment benefits (including prescription drug benefits) to emergency responders and clean-up workers who were impacted by the WTC attack on September 11th. The benefits are delivered through medical “Centers of Excellence”.

The Zadroga Act also establishes a medical monitoring and treatment program to pay for medical monitoring for WTC responders who performed rescue, recovery, demolition, debris clean-up, and related services. If the responder meets the eligibility criteria and is accepted into the program, the responder is entitled to receive treatment if two conditions are met: (1) the condition is among those identified WTC-related listed conditions including a number of “aerodigestive” disorders, listed mental health conditions, and musculoskeletal disorders occurring during the rescue or recovery efforts, and (2) a physician at a Clinical Center of Excellence determines that a condition was caused or contributed to by exposure to airborne toxins, other hazards, or adverse conditions resulting from the September 11th attacks.

The Zadroga Act also establishes a “survivor program” for non-responders who lived, worked, went to school or were otherwise in a defined area of lower Manhattan (and parts of Brooklyn) for a certain time period after the September 11th attacks. The criteria and medical eligibility determinations for survivors are the same as those that apply to the responders program. The survivor program is the “secondary payor” to any applicable public or private health insurance for the conditions that are not work-related.

Title II - The Re-Opened Victim Compensation Fund of 2001

The Zadroga Act also reopens and significantly expands a number of aspects of the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund of 2001. The Zadroga Act amends the original September 11th Compensation Fund by extending the time in which a claim may be filed for a period of five years from the date that Special Master (who has not yet been appointed) updates the regulations under the Zadroga 9/11 Act. The Victims’ Compensation Fund was originally closed on December 22, 2003.

The Zadroga Act also expands the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) in several important respects. The original VCF provided a right to file a claim only to those individuals injured while “present at the site” of the disasters or in the “immediate aftermath” of the September 11th attacks. “Present at the site” was originally defined by the VCF as physically present at the time of the crashes in the buildings, portions of the buildings that were destroyed as a result of the airplane crashes or any contiguous area that was sufficiently close to the crash site that there was a demonstrable risk of physical harm from the impact of aircraft or any subsequent fire, explosions, or collapse of buildings. As a result, rescue and clean-up workers injured at the buildings or areas not adjacent to the site were not originally eligible to file a claim as they were not “present at the site”.

The original VCF regulations defined the “immediate aftermath” of the crashes for claimants, other than rescue workers, as from the time of the crashes for a period of 12 hours after the crashes. For rescue workers the period of time defined as the “immediate aftermath” was extended to include the period from the crashes until 96 hours after the crashes. Again, rescue and recovery workers who arrived more than 96 hours after the crash and were injured were excluded from filing a claim under the original VCF.

The Zadroga Act expands the definition of “immediate aftermath” to well beyond the 12 and 96 hour post-crash periods defined in the original law. “Immediate aftermath” is redefined by the Zadroga Act to mean “any period beginning with the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, and ending on May 30, 2002.” The expansion of what was considered the “immediate aftermath” of the terrorist attacks significantly broadens the pool of claimants in the VCF to include the rescue, construction, an other clean-up workers who suffered injures during the ongoing rescue and clean-up efforts that persisted for many months after the September 11th attacks.

The Zadroga Act also expands definition of the “crash site.” The term “9/11 crash site” is defined by the Zadroga Act to mean: ‘‘(A) the World Trade Center site, Pentagon site, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania site; (B) the buildings or portions of buildings that were destroyed as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001; (C) any “area contiguous to a site of such crashes that the Special Master determines was sufficiently close to the site that there was a demonstrable risk of physical harm “ resulting from the impact of the aircraft or any subsequent fire, explosions, or building collapses (including the immediate area in which the impact occurred, fire occurred, portions of buildings fell, or debris fell upon and injured individuals); and (D) any area related to, or along, “routes of debris removal”, such as barges and the Fresh Kills landfill. on Staten Island.

One major issue that is unclear at the time of this writing is whether the residents, workers, and others in lower Manhattan who were sickened by the toxic fallout from the 9/11 attacks are eligible claimants under the VCF. The broadened language of the Zadroga Act amendments would suggest that the area residents and nearby workers are eligible claimants under the reopened VCF.

Within two weeks of the signing of the of Zadroga Act, however, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s staff announced that lower Manhattan residents and workers were not covered by the Fund, only to be contradicted by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (a co-author of the Zadroga Act) the next day, declaring that such area residents/workers were in fact covered. Resolution of this issue will need to be decided by the Special Master and the new rules implemented under the Zadroga Act. As of February 11, 2011, no Special Master has been appointed,

The Zadroga Act places sharp limitations on attorneys’ fees. The Zadroga Act amended the original Victim Compensation Fund law to place a “cap on attorneys’ fees of no more than ten percent” of an award made on a claim. The ten percent attorneys’ fee cap is further limited by fees previously received by attorneys representing VCF claimants who were also part of any settled civil action, including the recently settled litigation in the Southern District of NewYork. The Zadroga Act also prohibits an attorney from charging a legal fee in the case of an individual who was charged a legal fee in connection with the settlement of a prior civil action, except if the legal fee charged in connection with the settlement of a civil action is less than 10 percent of the aggregate amount awarded by a subsequent Victim Compensation Fund.

Bottom Line - attorneys who represented the over 10,000 9/11 responders in the recently settled actions against New York City cannot “double dip”. If their fees in the NYC litigation were higher than the 10% attorney fee cap in the Zadroga Act, they cannot charge any fee for the Zadroga VCF claim. New attorneys who represent the claimant solely in the Zadroga VCF claim are also limited by the 10% aggregate cap, which may dissuade some attorneys from taking claims where claimants previously paid attorneys a 25% fee under the NYC settlements. In some cases, the result might be that the attorney fee on the Zadroga Victim Compensation Fund claim could be significantly less that 10%, and could be offset completely.

Conclusion

The passage and enactment of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 was a huge victory for 9/11 first responders and survivors. Most importantly, it provides much needed medical monitoring and treatment to thousands of individuals who are now sick as a result of the 9/11 attacks and its aftermath. We are all aware now of the “toxic soup” that enveloped the area surrounding Ground Zero.

The Zadroga 9/11 Act also provides a second chance for many individuals, who were either ineligible or became sick after the closure of the original Victim Compensation Fund, to apply for a monetary award for their damages. As of February 11, 2011, President Obama has not selected the new Special Master of the Fund.

The original Special Master of the VCF was Kenneth Feinberg, who is now administering claims related to the BP Gulf oil spill. Mr. Feinberg has offered to act as Special Master in the reopened VCF on a pro bono basis. The Special Master must issue new regulations on Fund procedures within 180 days of enactment of the Zadroga 9/11 Act. Once these regulations are issued, attorneys will be in a much better position to counsel our clients on their rights and potential benefits under the new Zadroga Act.
......
Troy G. Rosasco is a Senior Partner at Turley, Redmond, Rosasco & Rosasco, LLP with offices in Nassau, Suffolk and Queens. He has been representing 9/11 victims and first responders since soon after the September 11th attacks. He authors the nationally recognized New York Disability Law Blog.

Daniel J. Hansen is a personal injury trial attorney with his own practice and offices in the Woolworth Building in Manhattan. They are jointly handling 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund claims.

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NIOSH Fails to Link Cancer as Zadroga Fund Compensable

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a report concluding that cancer is not a compensable disease for the Zadroga World Trade Center Victims Compensation Fund.

The report concludes:
"Based on the scientific and medical findings in the peer-reviewed literature reported in this first periodic review of cancer for the WTC Health Program, insufficient evidence exists at this time to propose a rule to add cancer, or a certain type of cancer, to the List of WTC-Related Health Conditions. "

Although a determination cannot be made to propose a rule to add cancer, or a type of cancer, to the List of WTC-Related Heath Conditions at this time, it is important to point out that the current absence of published scientific and medical findings demonstrating a causal association between the exposures resulting from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the occurrence of cancer in responders and survivors does not indicate evidence of the absence of a causal association. 

"It is expected that the second periodic review of cancer for the WTC Health Program will be conducted in early to mid-2012 to capture any emerging findings about exposures and cancer in responders and survivors affected by the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

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Minimum Latency & Types or Categories of Cancer Revised for WTC Program

The WTC Program Administrator has determined minimum latencies for the following five types or categories of cancer eligible for coverage in the WTC Health Program:

(1) Mesothelioma—11 years, based on direct observation after exposure to mixed forms of asbestos;

(2) All solid cancers (other than mesothelioma, lymphoproliferative, thyroid, and childhood cancers)—4 years, based on low estimates used for lifetime risk modeling of low-level ionizing radiation studies;

(3) Lymphoproliferative and hematopoietic cancers (including all types of leukemia and lymphoma)—0.4 years (equivalent to 146 days), based on low estimates used for lifetime risk modeling of low-level ionizing radiation studies;

(4) Thyroid cancer—2.5 years, based on low estimates used for lifetime risk modeling of low level ionizing radiation studies; and

(5) Childhood cancers (other than lymphoproliferative and hematopoietic cancers)—1 year, based on the National Academy of Sciences findings.

According to the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 ("Act") (42 U.S.C. §§ 300mm to 300mm-61), a determination that an individual's 9/11 exposure is substantially likely to be a significant factor in aggravating, contributing to, or causing an individual’s health condition must be made based on an assessment of the following: (1) the individual's exposure to airborne toxins, any other hazard, or any other adverse condition resulting from the terrorist attacks; and (2) the type of symptoms and temporal sequence of symptoms (42 U.S.C. § 300mm-22(a)(2)). With regard to the temporal sequence of symptoms, cancers do not occur immediately after exposure to a causative agent and they usually take many years up to several decades to manifest clinically.
Click here to read the entire revised policy. (1/6/2015)

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The World Trade Center Registry Opened Again to Register 9-11 Workers

On November 13, 2013, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed significant protections for World Trade Center workers into the Workers' Compensation Law under Article 8-A. The legislation extends and enhances workers' compensation eligibility and benefits for World Trade Center workers. Most notably, the legislation reopens the World Trade Center Registry; extends the deadline period for filing Form WTC-12, Registration of Participation in World Trade Center Rescue, Recovery and/or Clean-up Operations, with a deadline to September 11, 2014; reopens previously time-barred World Trade Center claims and considers them timely; and adds qualifying conditions to the law. Reopening of Registry and Extension of Filing Period for Form WTC-12 The World Trade Center Registry, which preserves workers' compensation rights for those who performed rescue, recovery, and clean-up operations after the World Trade Center attacks, is now reopened and will remain open until September 11, 2014. Previously, any claims for which the associated Form WTC-12 was received after September 13, 2010 were time-barred. Those workers were not entitled to benefits. These claims will now be reopened and considered timely. Workers who participated in the rescue, recovery, and clean-up operations of the World Trade Center between September 11, 2001 and September 11, 2002, should promptly register their service participation with the NYS Workers' Compensation Board (Board). This registration will preserve workers'...

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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson). For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com  have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

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Read About the Zadroga 9-11 Fund

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Powerful New Videos Encourage Those Who Qualify to Seek Care through the World Trade Center Health Program

Many victims of the 9-11 World Trade Center terorist attack have not yet sought medical care nor filed a claim for benefits. Today's post was shared by Safe Healthy Workers and comes from blogs.cdc.gov

Glenn, a retired New York City police officer, shares how the World Trade Center Health Program helped him regain his health. Though the September 11th attacks were over a decade ago, thousands of people who were in the affected areas continue to experience physical and mental health symptoms as a result of their experience in the days, months, and even years following 9/11. They may not recognize that some cancers, a chronic cough, difficulty sleeping, or frequent heartburn that they— or their children— experience could be a 9/11 related health condition. NIOSH is teaming up with our community partners to spread the word that help is available through the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program. Created by the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, the WTC Health Program provides medical monitoring and treatment for responders at the World Trade Center and related sites in New York City, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, PA, and for survivors who were in the New York City disaster area. All care for covered conditions is provided at no out of pocket costs for those who qualify. The WTC Health Program has helped thousands regain their health following the September 11th terrorist attacks. This year the Program is launching a digital campaign to make sure that those who may qualify for care, but are not enrolled, get the help they need and deserve. The campaign features videos of members telling their stories. Both responders and survivors describe...

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World Trade Center Health Program; Addition of Prostate Cancer to the List of WTC-Related Health Conditions

Recently the Federal Government approved benefits for prostate Cancer for those eligible for 9-11 Health Fund  Claims. The current deadline for some is October, 2013. See the links below the article to learn how to file a claim. Today's post was shared by Safe Healthy Workers and comes from www.federalregister.gov

Table A—Average Costs of Treatment for Prostate Cancer (2011$) Table B—Percentiles of Current Age (on April 11, 2012) for Current Members in the WTC Health Program by Gender and Responder/Survivor Status Table C— Prevalence Table for Prostate Cancer Table D—Cost per 80,000 Responders for Prostate Cancer, 2011$ Table E—Estimated Prevalence of Prostate Cancer by Year Based on 58,500 and 6,500 Responder and Survivor Population, Respectively and Assuming Cancer Rates at U.S. Population Average Table F—Estimated Treatment Costs of Prostate Cancer by Year Based on 58,500 and 6,500 Responder and Survivor Population, Respectively and Assuming Cancer Rates at U.S. Population Average (2011$) Table G—Estimated Prevalence of Prostate Cancer by Year Based on 80,000 and 30,000 Responder and Survivor Population, Respectively and Assuming Incidence of Cancer is 21% Higher Than the U.S. Population Due to 9/11 Exposure Table H—Estimated Treatment Costs of Prostate Cancer by Year Based on 80,000 and 30,000 Responder and Survivor Population, Respectively and Assuming Incidence of Cancer is 21% Higher Than the U.S. Population Due to 9/11 Exposure(2011$) Table I—Breakdown of Estimated Annual WTC Health Program Transfers for Prostate Cancer Based on 80,000 and 58,500 Responders and 30,000 and 6,500 Survivors, 2014-2016, 2011$ This final rule is effective October 21, 2013. Paul Middendorf, Senior Health Scientist, 1600 Clifton Rd. NE., MS: E-20,...

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Governor Patterson Signs Legislation Extending Benefits for 911 Workers

New York State workers’ compensation benefits have been expanded for 911 workers as a result legislation signed Governor Patterson. Under the prior law the registration period would have closed in August 208. The date has been extended to September 10, 2010.

The definitions in this bill expand the scope of a "qualifying WTC condition" under the Accidental Diability Law to include:

(1) members who did not undergo apre-employment physical examination, but who provide access to medical records which demonstrate the absence of a qualifying condition priorto September 11, 2001;

(2) 911 dispatchers who worked on September 11, 2001 and suffered psychological injury;

(3) members who worked for any period of time within the first 48 hours after the first airplane hit the WTC; and

(4) members who repaired, cleaned or rehabilitated vehicles or equipment, including emergency vehicle radio equipment owned by New York City ("NYC") that was contaminated by debris from the WTC site.

Sections 18, 19 and 20 of the bill amend Workers` Compensation Law("WCL") SS 162, 164 and 168 to allow claimants to file a sworn statement indicating the dates and locations of their participation inthe rescue, recovery and clean-up operations until September 10, 2010,with the date of disablement being determined as the date mostbeneficial to the claimant. Claims for disablements occurring between September 1, 2003 and September 11, 2008 will not be time barred. The time period was to have expired on August 14, 2008.

“We have a profound responsibility to provide those who participated in the rescue, recovery and clean-up efforts in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 with the benefits they deserve,” said Governor Paterson. “It is imperative that we continue to provide those workers who face health consequences from their work at Ground Zero with the very best care and the opportunity to apply for disability benefits.”

“We also have a responsibility to better protect patients in New York. Strengthening the disciplinary system for physicians and giving the public more information, combined with enhancing infection control measures, is vital to the safety of all of our citizens,” added Paterson.