Zadroga Act

When Congress reauthorized the Zadroga Act, renewing the Victim Compensation Fund for five years, some substantive changes were made. The new law places a cap on pain and suffering awards for cancer at $250,000 and for non-cancer illnesses at $90,000. But that does not mean new claimants will necessarily receive lower awards than previous claimants […]

Attorney Michael Barasch, Managing Partner of the law firm Barasch & McGarry, and Richard Alles, former legislative director for the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, report that the last three years have seen a three-fold increase in 9/11-linked cancers. The October 25, 2016 Edition of the Labor Press’ “Blue Collar Buzz” radio show highlighted their ongoing […]

When the James L. Zadroga 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Reauthorization Act went into effect last December, Congress charged the Justice Department with writing a rule to implement it. The Attorney General appointed Sheila L. Birnbaum as Special Master, and Ms. Birnbaum recently published the Interim Final Rule for the VCF. Potential claimants should be aware […]

*** UPDATE: Since the date of this blog post, the deadline for filing a claim with the Victim Compensation Fund has been extended until December 18, 2020. *** When Congress passed the James L. Zadroga 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Reauthorization Act on December 18, 2015, it made certain changes to the substance of the law. […]

When Congress voted to reauthorize the Zadroga Act, it charged the U.S. Department of Justice with the task of writing regulations for its implementation and assigned statutory deadlines for completion. The Attorney General selected Sheila Birnbaum to serve as Special Master for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, overseeing its implementation. At Barasch & McGarry, […]

Mike Barasch commented on an op-Ed piece that appeared in the NY Daily News regarding the 14th anniversary of the end of post-9/11 Ground Zero cleanup and recovery efforts. Michael Barasch, Richard Dodd’s attorney, stated: “I was touched by Richard Dodd’s piece, reminding us of the horrible and dangerous conditions that first responders and construction […]