Students

Lawyers Helping NYC Students and Alumni with 9/11 Claims

The day was harrowing. Students were suddenly plunged into a war zone. As soon as the dust settled, and well before it was cleaned up, students were sent back to school. Officials from the EPA and others said the air was safe, but unfortunately, with the passage of time, we’ve learned that the air in Lower Manhattan was anything but safe.

Now, two decades after 9/11, more and more people who were students on that day are developing life-threatening cancers and other severe illnesses because of the toxins in the air on 9/11 and during the 8 following months. Fortunately, there is free health care and compensation available through the WTC Health Program and 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF). Barasch & McGarry is the leading law firm helping students, alumni, and all 9/11 survivors get the full and fair compensation and medical benefits they deserve.

Students and Alumni Are Eligible for 9/11 Benefits

In 2019, after dozens of trips down to Washington, D.C. to lobby Congress, our firm and many other 9/11 advocates aided in the full funding and permanent extension of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund— the government fund with over $10 billion to compensate students, alumni, faculty, and school staff who have become sick or have died from WTC-linked cancers and illnesses. Passage of the Never Forget the Heroes Act essentially ensures funds are available to compensate all who are currently sick or get sick in the future.

The second program available to 9/11 survivors is the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) which provides free health screenings and medical treatment. The program covers bystanders, like students, who developed illnesses from the toxins released in the air in Lower Manhattan. This free health care is available nationwide.

Qualifying as a Former Student for the VCF

Former students can prove their eligibility for VCF benefits by demonstrating two facts:

• Attendance at a school south of Canal Street during the 2001–2002 school year
• Diagnosis of a cancer or specific respiratory illnesses linked to the toxic dust of the WTC

Schools in the 9/11 Exposure Zone

• PS 234
• PS 150
• PS 1 Alfred Smith
• PS 2 Meyer London
• PS 124 Yung Wing School
• PS/IS 89
• Leadership & Public Service High School
• Stuyvesant High School
• Murry Bergtraum High School
• High School of Economics and Finance
• PS 184 Shuang Wen School
• PS 134 Henrietta Szold School
• PS 137 John Bernstein
• PS 110 Florence Nightingale
• PS 42 Benjamin Altman
• PS 130 Hernando Desoto School
• PS 142 Amalia Castro School
• PS 140 Nathan Straus
• PS 188 Island School
• PS 126 Jacob Riis
• Marte Valle High School
• Bard High School
• City As School High School
• NEST
• University Neighborhood High School
• Chelsea Career and Technical High School
• MS 131
• Touro College
• Elisabeth Haub Psce School of Law
• Pace University 
• NYACK College
• New York Film Academy
• Carnegie Mellon NY
• College of New Rochelle NY
• Hunter College of the CUNY
• New York Law
• BMCC
• St John’s University Manhattan Campus
• Bard High School Early College 
• Cascades High School
• Essex Street Academy 
• Orchard Collegiate Academy
• John V Lindsay Wildcat Academy
• Leman Manhattan Prep
• PS/MS 8 Robert Fulton

Spreading the Word to Former NYC Students

Together with the United Federation of Teachers, many Lower Manhattan schools, and parent-teacher organizations, our law firm is working to get the word out to the 9/11 community. So many of the student and teacher population are largely unaware of available medical and monetary benefits through the World Trade Center Health Program and Victim Compensation Fund. They often don’t connect their illness to 9/11. Barasch & McGarry is determined to help every 9/11 survivor who is suffering from toxic exposure.

Deadline to Register for Compensation Has Been Extended

Deadlines to register VCF claims are approaching. If you or anyone you know had cancer or lost a family member, reach out to us to register for compensation quickly.

If you were exposed to the toxic air on 9/11 or in the 8 months that followed, but have not had your medical condition linked to 9/11, you also still have time to apply for significant compensation. The deadline to apply to the Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) is two years from the date that your cancer or illness has been certified by the WTC Health Program. The two-year period to register doesn’t start on the day of diagnosis. Rather, it starts only when a victim is made aware their condition was linked to exposure to the WTC toxins.

For those who died from their WTC-linked condition, the two-year period for their family to register starts on the day of the death of the WTC victim.

Many people have tried to complete the VCF application on their own, only to learn that it requires answers to hundreds of questions and many documents to download. It would be our pleasure to help you complete the process in order to ensure that you receive the compensation that you are entitled to. Please contact us for a free consultation.