Tag Archives: rescue workers

Workers at Ground Zero (Photo: Flickr @mashleymorgan)

400 Ground Zero Lawsuits Tossed Out of Court

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Workers at Ground Zero (Photo: Flickr @mashleymorgan)
Workers at Ground Zero (Photo: Flickr @mashleymorgan)

400 lawsuits filed by ill Ground Zero rescue workers were tossed out of court by Judge Alvin Hellerstein. According to the New York Post, the workers ignored the city’s effort to settle or they simply could not be located by the attorney who was dispatched with the task of tracking them down.

Conversely, 98 percent of the workers eligible for compensation accepted the city’s offer. Only 152 of the over 10,000 plaintiffs that filed suit opted out of the agreement with the city, which is valued at over $660 million. Whether or not those cases go to trial will be decided on February 2, which Hellerstein set as the date for a court conference to discuss the hot-button matter.

Do you think that the judge should have given the MIA Ground Zero rescue workers more time to respond to the city’s effort to settle? Or is he being fair overall?

Defining Ground Zero beyond the footprints of the Twin Towers

$7.4 Billion Ground Zero Aid Package Fading

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Defining Ground Zero beyond the footprints of the Twin Towers
The aid package for rescue workers at Ground Zero is failing (Credit: FEMA)

In what is sure to frustrate those who gave their time and energy in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it appears that the $7.4 billion aid package designed to benefit workers who got sick from their efforts at Ground Zero is fading. On Wednesday, the Senate passed a tax-cut bill without the 9/11 legislation.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the those who supported the legislation, which would provide both health care and compensation to the people who fell ill after working at the World Trade Center Site after the 9/11 attacks, hoped to get it attached to the tax deal. But that did not happen.

Republicans apparently placed priority on the tax cut. Also, when the Senate’s spending bill was revealed on Wednesday, the 9/11 legislation was conspicuously absent from the list. While the House already passed the measure, many politicos feel that the project is too costly and could become wasteful and/or fraudulent.

Those who were exposed to the dangerous dust and debris from the WTC site are currently receiving piecemeal, government-provided health monitoring. This particular legislation would turn the short-term, case-by-case care into a long-term program. President Obama is a supporter of the bill and has said he would sign it if passed.

Do you think this bill will ever be passed?