$657 Million Injury Settlement With WTC Workers

The federal-taxpayer funded WTC Captive Insurance Co. reached a $657 million injury settlement with workers involved in the World Trade Center cleanup and rescue activity.

Its agreement would end federal lawsuits brought by attorneys for more than 10,000 men and women who claimed harm from rescue, recovery and debris removal operations following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the captive insurer said.

Plaintiffs have filed claims for maladies including dust-induced respiratory ailments and cancers, post traumatic stress disorder and back and leg injuries, among others.

For the settlement to be complete, 95 percent of the plaintiffs must opt in to accept the agreement arrangements.

WTC Captive management said the agreement could serve as a blueprint to settle other 9/11 lawsuits against separate private or public entities. Suits have been filed against the Port of New York and New Jersey and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Plaintiffs' attorney Marc Jay Bern said plaintiffs would receive amounts ranging from thousands of dollars to "more than a million," and he was optimistic the 95 percent opt-in number would be reached. He said about half of his firm's clients who would be part of the settlement are police and firemen.

The WTC Captive was created in 2004 with a $1 billion Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to insure the City of New York and its debris removal contractors when the city after 9/11 was unable to secure adequate liability coverage in the commercial insurance market.

WTC Captive insured the World Trade Center site rescue, recovery and debris removal work.

The settlement that was reached establishes a compensation system to pay injury claims from workers doing cleanup and rescue for the city and its contractors, including construction, fire, police and other workers and volunteers at Ground Zero.

To recover under the settlement, each plaintiff must submit proof that he or she was present and participated in the rescue, recovery and debris removal operations, as well as specific medical documentation and a physician's diagnosis confirming their claimed illness or injury.

WTC Captive said all of this information must be submitted by plaintiffs under oath and will be subject to audit.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs and WTC Captive will choose an independent third-party expert to review each claim and the required medical documentation, further protecting against mistakes or fraud.

Plaintiffs will have 90 days to review the settlement and "opt in" by agreeing to the terms of the agreement, which includes a release of any future claims against the city and its contractors involved in 9/11 rescue, recovery and debris removal.