An agreement has been reached for city workers, construction companies, and over 10,000 ground zero rescue and recovery members, could pay up to $657.5 million.
Legal news for New York employment attorneys – Payouts for workers involved in ground-zero cleanup range from few thousand to over $1 million
New York – (NewYorkInjuryNews.com) – As reported by MSNBC, a settlement over Ground Zero health claims was announced Thursday, March 11, 2010. Attorneys representing the city, construction companies and more than 10,000 ground zero rescue and recovery workers have agreed upon a payment of up to $657.5 million, aided by a $1 billion grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) www.fema.gov.
The deal comes after years in court and must still be approved by a judge and the plaintiffs. Both sides in the case are expected to appear Friday, March 12, 2010 before the federal judge handling the case. The settlement would result in postponement and/or cancellation of the trials tentatively scheduled to begin in May 2010. These cases range from minor allergies to a firefighter who died of throat cancer and another who required a lung transplant after working on the post 9-11 clean up.
The law firm Worby, Groner, Edelman & Napoli, Bern LLP represents 9,000 of the plaintiffs and negotiated the deal. Senior partner Marc Bern said it is “a good settlement,” and “we are gratified that these heroic men and women…will finally receive just compensation for their pain and suffering, lost wages, medical and other expenses…”
For the settlement to take place, 95 percent of the workers would need to agree to the terms. Those that wish to participate must prove they had been at the World Trade Center site or other facilities that handled debris and turn over medical records and information. Payments will be based on a system that ranks the illnesses by severity and cause, will range from a few thousand dollars to over $1 million and be decided by a neutral third party. A special insurance fund will be set up to cover workers who develop cancer in the future as well.
The Worby, Groner, Edelman & Napoli, Bern law partners are expected to take as much as a third or more of the settlement in legal fees.
Legal News Reporter: Tara Monks – Legal news for New York attorneys.