9/11 health compensation fund faces criticism from N.J. first-responders
Published: Friday, July 29, 2011, 6:45 AM
A large plume of smoke billowed over New York City after the Twin Towers were struck by two planes during the terrorist attacks that stunned the world on Sept. 11, 2001.Fay, 61, of Closter in Bergen County, had just found out the fund covered carpel tunnel syndrome, but also knew that federal officials on Tuesday said cancer victims were not eligible for compensation because a review had found no clear evidence of a causal link between cancers and the dust, debris and chemicals taken in by so many in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
"Do you find it unusual that carpel tunnel syndrome is covered?" Fay asked Sheila Birnbaum, a New York lawyer and special master of the fund, in an incredulous tone.
Birnbaum had just explained to Fay — who says he knows more than 10 firefighters suffering from "rare" cancers they believe are linked to 9/11 — that he needed to "go to Congress" if he wanted to fight for a person to get covered by the fund.
Her job, she explained several times to the nearly 40 people who attended last night’s meeting at City Hall, is to administer the fund over the next few years in a fair and efficient way.
Fay, who said he does not suffer from any 9/11-related illness, wasn’t happy.
"But you're representing Washington," he said to Birnbaum before storming out in anger.
Later, Fay told reporters: "The general consensus that I feel is that if something like this happens again, I don't think you're going to get the response that you had the first time. People in uniform now are looking at this and saying, ‘Why should I bother? Why should my family have to put up with this after the fact, if I get injured or killed?’"
Last night’s meeting was the second being held throughout the region to educate the public about the fund and how to apply for compensation.
Birnbaum said the fund is a continuation of the original 9/11 victim’s compensation fund which ran from 2001 to 2003 and doled out $6 billion to victims’ families and $1 billion to the injured.
Now, she said, the fund has been expanded to include more people.
Construction cranes stand on the site of the former World Trade Center in this aerial photograph taken Oct. 2, 2010.While some who attended last night’s meeting expressed gratitude for the new fund, others, like Fay, complained about the fairness of the eligibility requirements and the efficiency of other government-run 9/11 programs.
Nicole Simpson, 40, of Plainfield, said travels two hours to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan for treatment of chronic bronchitis, asthma and other ailments she says are linked to 9/11.
Simpson, who worked for Morgan Stanley in Tower 2, said it didn't make sense to her that only first responders could receive government-sponsored treatment in New Jersey.
"I'm just a survivor who was in the building and was affected," Simpson said.
Birnbaum, who appeared to do her best to hear all complaints and try to be helpful, responded:
"You may be right. It doesn’t make much sense to me that we don’t get them both treated," Birmbaum said, adding that she may have people look into the issue.
Birnbaum also made clear that if new scientific or medical studies show a clear causal link between cancer and the affects of 9/11, the eligibility for the cancer patients would be changed.
After the meeting, she said cancer takes a long time to manifest in many people, and so future studies will continue and may show a whole new result.
online wheelchair store www.frontlinemobility.com
No comments:
Post a Comment