Help is Available: VCF and WTCHP

Two programs provide relief to responders, recovery workers and others injured during the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States or by exposure to debris afterward.

These two programs are the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) and the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP). Although both programs were established by the same legislation, each has a different mandate and goal.

Consider the following differences:

• The World Trade Center Health Program. This program provides medical monitoring and treatment to responders, workers, residents, students and others exposed during and after the September 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City, the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the site of the hijacked passenger plane crash. Eligibility for medical services is determined after application to the program and your participation in a screening exam for specific WTC-related health conditions. Health service providers are available to those who live outside the New York area.
• The Victim Compensation Fund (VCF). Reopened by the Zadroga Act, the VCF provides compensation to people exposed in the same geographic areas as that covered by the WTCHP. The Fund is open to those who suffered direct injury from terrorist attacks or by clean up and removal of the debris between September 2001 and May 2002. The VCF provides compensation for defined health conditions and is accessed through application to the Fund. Application requires registration and proof of presence in an exposed or other area likely to have caused demonstrable harm.

If you were injured or made ill by the events of September 11, 2001, you should complete your application now. If you have questions, speak with an attorney at our firm.