World Trade Center Health Program, Victims’ Compensation Fund Discussion: Survivors, Family Members Encouraged To Apply

World Trade Center Health Program, Victims’ Compensation Fund Discussion: Survivors, Family Members Encouraged To Apply

Staten Islander News interviewed Sara Director, partner at Barasch & McGarry, the leading law firm helping first responders and survivors of the 9/11 attacks and subsequent toxic dust cloud to obtain compensation and heathcare for the many who have developed cancers in the years since the tragedy.  While many lives were lost that day, the survivors who breathed in the toxic dust have lost their lives in the subsequent years before their time due to the toxic air they were told was safe in the days and months following: 

Regarding the toxins in the air at 9/11, Google’s AI overview sums it up as follows: “The toxins at 9/11 were a complex, “wildly toxic” mix from the collapsed World Trade Center, including pulverized concrete, glass, asbestos, heavy metals (lead, mercury), dioxins, and PAHs from jet fuel, creating a hazardous dust cloud that sickened hundreds of thousands of responders, residents, and workers with respiratory illnesses, cancers (like lung, prostate, thyroid), and other diseases, with new research continuing to uncover links between these exposures and health issues like blood disorders.“

Staten Islander News recently covered the story from Senator Scarcella-Spanton’s office, where documents were found in a basement showing demonstratively that the City knew that the toxins were in the air and unsafe, but they told everyone to return to life as usual anyway.

As scientists and doctors have learned over the decades since the tragedy, most 9/11 related illnesses take decades to develop, particularly many of the cancers.  There were many toxins in the air following the destruction of the buildings and the subsequent dust cloud which remained in the air for weeks.  Even after that cloud was gone, however, these same toxins persisted.  And these toxins are causing new cases of lung cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, and other rarer types such as leukemia and bone cancer.

Unfortunately, this law firm has clients that are dying of these illnesses at a rate of one or two per day. These are devastating consequences and frightening numbers.

People affected by these toxins in the days and months following September 11th are encouraged to apply to the Victim Compensation Fund, and to gather their evidence of presence in the exposure zone now, before those who witnessed them there have passed.

It should be mentioned, particularly for those who have not yet been diagnosed or have recently been, that nutrition, exercise, sleep, and avoidance of alcohol and tobacco have been shown to prevent cancer, as per the American Medical Association.  Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine advocates for a plant based diet as treatment or adjunctive therapy for most types of cancer.

Learn all about these programs from Sara Director, partner at Barasch and McGarry. The following questions were asked:

1. There are two different federal programs that were created to help people impacted by 9/11, the World Trade Center Health Program and Victim Compensation Fund. What does each program do? How do they work together?
2. Why are these programs needed nearly 25 years after 9/11?
3. According to CDC data, not only does the 9/11 community have common cancers like skin cancer, lung cancer and breast cancer but also rare cancers like leukemia, brain cancer and male breast cancer, which affects 1 in every 100,000 people and yet your firm represents nearly 100. What kinds of health conditions have you seen happening to people who were there at the time?
4. A few years ago, uterine cancer became the 69th cancer added to the 9/11 health registry. Your firm played an important part in that process. Can you explain how a new illness gets certified? What are some of the other diseases being studied/considered?
5. Contrary to what many people think, these programs are not only for first responders. What other groups of people are eligible for the World Trade Center Health Program and Victim Compensation Fund? How can you determine if you are eligible?
6. CDC data shows that applications from approximately 2,815 survivors and 1,657 responders were suspended last year, and the main reason given was insufficient documentation. Can you explain what kinds of documentation you need to prove that you were there? What is the application process like?
7. Do you have to be sick to apply? Why do you recommend putting in an application even if you are healthy?
8. If your loved one already passed away of a 9/11 illness, is it too late to apply?
9. Staten Island State Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton sponsored a bill that was signed by Governor Hochul in September. This legislation created efficiencies in World Trade Center disability and death benefit application process for the New York City Police Pension Fund. What role does this play in helping first responders access 9/11 benefits?
10. On the flip side, Governor Hochul signed the 9/11 Notice Act in 2023 to help reach more people in the survivor community—specifically office workers and those working in Lower Manhattan retail shops, restaurants and more—who may be eligible and not realize it. Can you explain what the bill does and why it’s important?
11.  There has been a lot of change in the federal government since President Trump took office. You had DOGE cutting a lot of the workforce, including in places like the CDC, which administers the World Trade Center Health Program. Where does the program stand now? What are you hearing anecdotally from the 9/11 community as they seek to access care and certify illnesses?
12. Both the World Trade Center Health Program and Victim Compensation Fund are funded separately by the government. Can you explain how each is funded?
13. There is currently a bill in Congress, the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025, that is meant to fill a $3 billion budget shortfall in the World Trade Center Health Program. Why does the program have such a large shortfall? How is your law firm helping to fight for passage of the bill? And what will happen if it does not pass?
14. Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis has publicly supported the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025. How important is her backing for that bill, and what impact could her advocacy have on ensuring the World Trade Center Health Program remains fully funded?
15. Malliotakis also cosponsored the American Victims of Terror Compensation Act, which addresses victims of state-sponsored terrorism, including 9/11 families. How does that piece of legislation connect with the broader fight to ensure justice and compensation for those impacted by 9/11-related illnesses?

Banner Image: Senator Gillibrand quote. Image Credit – Sen. Gillibrand