World Trade Center Health Program Opens New Surge Clinic in Lower Manhattan for “Survivors”

Thanks to persistent criticism and lobbying by 9/11 advocates, the 9/11 community and their attorneys, it became imperative that something be done to alleviate the unfair wait that “survivors” have had to endure to secure an appointment with the Health Program. Survivors include over 350,000 downtown residents, office workers, former students and teachers who lived or worked in lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001 or anytime during the 8 months that followed. They were exposed to the same deadly toxins as the first responders and, not surprisingly, they are developing the same insidious diseases, including 68 cancers, as the responders.

The World Trade Center Health Program recently opened a new medical office in Manhattan. Aimed specifically at “survivors” of the September 11th attacks, it is hoped that this new “surge clinic” will reduce the serious backlog that now exists in providing sick residents and office workers the treatment they need and deserve. It will also enable them to be certified for their WTC physical illnesses so that they can then receive the compensation that they are entitled to from the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF).

When Congress passed the 9/11 Zadroga Act into law in 2010, it created both the WTC Health Program and the Victim Compensation Fund. But those known as “survivors”, especially those who lived or worked downtown, have struggled to take advantage of this support, in part because the Health Program’s clinics at Bellevue Hospital and Governors Island have been swamped with patients and have not been able to get to them. There are currently 2,800 people who have enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program who haven’t yet had a single doctor’s appointment.

Backlog Unfair to Local Residents and Office Workers

The goal is to reduce this backlog significantly. The new facility will have the capacity to see up to 750 patients each month. As a result, survivors with respiratory symptoms (or cancer) who live in any of the five boroughs of NYC, will soon be able to get an initial doctor’s visit to confirm that their illnesses are the result of their exposure to the toxins at Ground Zero between 9/11 and May 30, 2002. Thanks to the results from NYPD Detective James Zadroga’s autopsy, which discovered benzene, chromium, lead and a host of other carcinogens in his lungs, there is a presumption that these illnesses were in fact caused by exposure to the WTC toxins.

Advocates for the 9/11 community have widely praised these plans. As Ben Chevat, the Executive Director of the advocacy group 9/11 Health Watch, notes: “While it is sad and tragic that there are so many responders and survivors who were exposed to toxins at Ground Zero and are now sick, the good news is that there is a WTC Health Program that it is going to be there for them for the next 70 years.”

Michael Barasch, Managing Partner of Barasch & McGarry, also lauded the news. His law firm advocated for NYPD Detective James Zadroga, who lost his life due to WTC-linked pulmonary fibrosis. The firm now represents over 11,000 WTC responders and survivors and has recovered over $2 billion for its clients from the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. “We have long understood how important it is that those exposed to the 9/11 toxic dust receive free medical treatment. Since innocent civilians were exposed to the same toxins as the responders, they deserve be treated equally. This clinic gets us one step closer to giving them justice,” said Barasch.

For a free consultation on getting 9/11 benefits call Barasch & McGarry at [ln::phone].