According to a report in the New York Times, 10,000 workers who sued New York City for damages relating to health problems will be compensated for illnesses and contaminant exposure while working at ground zero. Compensation for the plaintiffs will be based on the severity of illness and the exposure of the plaintiff's to contaminants.
On Thursday, lawyers for the plaintiffs and officials from New York City, met with Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, to discuss the terms of the settlement. The city is insured through a federally funded insurance company and any compensation for the plaintiffs will come from the insurance company. The total settlement of $657.5 million will take effect if all the plaintiffs agree to the terms of the settlement. However, the settlement dollar amount will drop to $575 million if only 95 percent of the plaintiffs accept the settlement. Settlement for the plaintiffs will vary and range from thousands of dollars to $1 million or more for those seriously injured.
The details of the settlement have been under negotiations for more than two years due to the complexity of the settlement and political wrangling and arguments on whether the city should be held responsible.
According to a statement issued to the New York Times, Marc Bern, an attorney representing over 9,000 plaintiffs, stated that ''this is a good settlement and we are gratified that these heroic men and women who performed their duties without consideration of the health implications will finally receive just compensation for their pain and suffering, lost wages, medical and other expenses, as the U.S. Congress intended when it appropriated this money.''
In the same article, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg issued a statement remarking that the settlement was ''a fair and reasonable resolution to a complex set of circumstances.''
The settlement will follow the same process that was used to compensate the families of victims of the terrorist attacks through the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund. Under this system, which is designed to screen plaintiffs' claims for fraud or misrepresentation, lawyers in the case will appoint a claims administrator who will determine if a plaintiff's claims are valid and whether compensation is warranted and if so, the amount warranted.
Since 2003, thousands of front line workers at ground zero have filed lawsuits against New York City, and other private companies who were hired to clean away the debris at ground zero. The plaintiffs are suing for injuries and illness that are a direct result of working at the site for several days to months.
Many of the claims are asthma and/or respiratory related, and the plaintiffs claim their conditions are a result of breathing in contaminants that they were exposed to at ground zero. The plaintiffs claim that their health conditions are a result of the defendant's negligence to protect workers at ground zero with proper supervision and safety equipment such as respirators. In one such case, plaintiff Raymond W. Hauber, 47, a firefighter, passed away in 2007 from espohageal cancer; his case is one of the first to go to trial. Other plaintiffs, who are healthy at the moment, are afraid that they will develop life threatening illness in years to come due to their exposure to the toxic air at ground zero. To address the plaintiffs concerns, the settlement includes a $23.4 million insurance policy designed to cover claims for any related illnesses that may manifest in the future.
Plaintiffs have 90 days to decide if they wish to settle their claims or pursue a trial. Although the first 12 cases were scheduled to go to trial on May 16 in Manhattan, some of the trials may not take place if the plaintiffs can reach a settlement.
A point system will be used to determine the severity of each plaintiff's condition which will be validated by the plaintiff's medical history. The process will also examine pre-existing conditions, normal aging factors, evidence that links the plaintiff to ground zero, initial dated diagnosis and any history of smoking.
According to the New York Times, Judge Hellerstein plans to review each settlement and hold hearings that will determine if the settlements are fair. The New York Times reported that Judge Hellerstein advised lawyers during a hearing on January 21st that ''many of them are similar, but in fundamental aspects they have an individual plaintiff - they all revolve around one person. I'll be looking carefully, if there is a settlement, at how individual members are treated.''
New York City officials have argued that they cannot be held financially responsible for events which are deemed a national emergency or civil defense disaster. In addition, the city has also questioned the validity of some claims, in particular, one plaintiff who was deemed to have a pre-existing condition before his exposure to contaminants at ground zero.
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According to a report in the New York Times, 10,000 workers who sued New York City for damages relating to health problems will be compensated for illnesses and contaminant exposure while working at ground zero. Compensation for the plaintiffs will be based on the severity of illness and the exposure of the plaintiff's to contaminants.
