Zadroga Act Expanded to Cover 50 Different Types of Cancer

News provided by

RD Legal Funding

Jun 21, 2012, 03:10 ET

CRESSKILL, N.J., June 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Time is running out for many 9/11 First Responders whose cancers will now be covered in the expanded Zadroga Act. "They need to move fast. It's no exaggeration to say that lives are at stake," John Feal, 9/11 First Responder and Zadroga advocate, told the New York Daily News. Unfortunately, the time from the establishment of award amounts for cancer-suffering First Responders to actual disbursal can be months and even years. To ease their financial burdens, RD Legal Funding, LLC ("RD Legal") will make settlement funding available as soon as award amounts have been determined.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110803/NY45278LOGO)

"We helped First Responders included in the New York City Settlement and now we will provide settlement funding to those with Zadroga settlements. These selfless individuals now face high medical bills, are unable to work, and are struggling to get by. It is our honor to get urgently needed funds into their hands as quickly as possible," said Joseph Genovesi, Senior Vice President at RD Legal.

The battle to win cancer-sufferers the right to participate in the Zadroga Act has been a long one:

  • September 11, 2001: Terrorists attack the United States.
  • Over 91,000 rescue, clean-up workers, and volunteers are exposed to environmental hazards at Ground Zero and other World Trade Center-related locations in the following days and months. 
  • September 22, 2001: The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund is signed into law, awarding $7 billion to families and beneficiaries of those killed and responders who suffered physical harm in the immediate aftermath of the terrorists' attack. Rescue and recovery workers are excluded.  
  • January 5, 2006: 34 year-old NYPD detective and First Responder James Zadroga dies of respiratory disease, black lung disease, and mercury on the brain. A healthy non-smoker with no prior history of respiratory ailment before his escape from 7 WTC and 470 hours working at Ground Zero, Zadroga comes to symbolize some 10,000 plaintiffs suffering from ailments directly related to the WTC attacks.
  • January 2011: President Obama signs The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 into law, reopening The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund for five years, and providing $2.7 billion for First Responders, those trapped in the buildings, and local residents who suffered illness or injuries related to the toxic dust. Cancers are specifically excluded.
  • September 2011:  The Lancet publishes a study of New York City firefighters revealing a 19 percent increase in cancer risk overall in 9/11 responders.
  • March 2012: Dr. Philip Landrigan reports a 14 percent increase in cancer rates among 20,000 firefighters, police officers, sanitation workers, construction workers, and others who assisted at Ground Zero.
  • June 8, 2012: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Director Dr. John Howard  accepts a federal panel's recommendation to add 14 broad categories of cancer—including 50 specific cancers—to the list of illnesses covered by the  Zadroga Act's 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, now valued at $4.3 billion.

RD Legal will provide settlement financing to First Responders who need access to their funds as soon as award amounts have been established. For more information, contact RD Legal at 1-800-565-5177 or visit http://www.legalfunding.com. Founded in 1997, RD Legal is one of the nation's leading providers of lawsuit settlement funding to attorneys and plaintiffs.

SOURCES:


 

SOURCE RD Legal Funding

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