Victim Compensation Fund

Many 9/11 responders and survivors went through major life changes after the attacks, and those changes may have include getting married or experiencing other life events that resulted in a legal name change. The VCF will accept claims under your new name, but requires some proof of the change. If your name is now different […]

No, absolutely not. The VCF does not premise their award amounts solely on financial losses. Anybody with a physical health certification from the WTC Health Program and/or medical proof that they suffer from a condition the federal government has linked to 9/11 can qualify for an award for “pain and suffering”, also known as “non-economic […]

For the most part, no, your VCF award is not taxed and other income is not deducted from your award. VCF payouts are meant to compensate you for pain, suffering, and the expenses you’ve already laid out for your treatment, and are therefore not considered “income.” There is, however, one circumstance in which this issue […]

In most cases, the families of individuals who are incapacitated or deceased as a result of a VCF-eligible condition are able to file a claim on the victim’s behalf. Regardless of their family relationship to the victim, however, people filing a claim on behalf of a deceased victim must prove that they have the legal […]

Registering for the VCF does not require you to waive any rights, and we encourage anybody who was below Canal Street on or after 9/11 to do that now, whether or not they are sick. It’s quick and easy to do. Just go to www.VCF.gov and click on the menu item that says “Register.” From […]

New York City is incredibly diverse, so it’s no surprise that many people who contributed to the WTC rescue and clean-up efforts, as well as many members of the lower Manhattan community, were originally from somewhere else. Among the thousands of people who were exposed to the air downtown during the WTC clean-up are many […]