Many New Yorkers can breathe easy-- although ironically, the inability to breathe easy was the very subject of the 2003 World Trade Center lawsuit.
The lawsuit was brought about by the rescue workers at the World Trade Center site. On Thursday night, a settlement was reached between the New York injury lawyers and the defendants in the World Trade Center lawsuit.
As a result, plaintiffs will receive a total of $657.5 million.
The World Trade Center lawsuit is the result of the aftermath of September 11, where emergency and rescue workers were exposed to the bitter cocktail of toxic substances, glass, smoke and asbestos in the air after the collapse of the twin towers. As a result, some workers developed asbestos related diseases. Plaintiffs in the suit included thousands of police officers, firefighters, construction experts and emergency workers.
The defendants in the 9/11 lawsuits include the city of New York as well as several private companies hired to remove debris at Ground Zero.
This settlement is not the end of the tale, however. For starters, the New York injury lawyers in the settlement must convince all of the victims to accept the terms of the settlement. For the settlement to become effective at all, it must be accepted by 95 percent of the plaintiffs. Under this scenario, the settlement would be $575 million.
But if all of the victims accept the terms of the settlement, then the settlement amount would be the full $675.5 million.
Still, in a suit with over 11,000 plaintiffs, some may see millions, whereas others may see only thousands. Ultimately, the victim compensation will depend on the degree of injury suffered. The plaintiffs alleged, among other allegations, that the defendants failed to provide adequate protection to the workers from exposure to the highly toxic substances at the World Trade Center site.
Many of these workers spent weeks, if not months working at the World Trade Center site. One firefighter died of esophageal cancer before his case was even heard at trial.
And some plaintiffs have not yet developed any illness. The settlement, however, has a provision for a $23.4 million insurance policy to cover such future claims.
Indeed, the wise New York injury lawyers involved were certainly able to provide for even those injuries which had not yet become apparent.
Now, the burden rests on the New York injury lawyers to demonstrate how much their individual client is entitled to under the total settlement. This process could take several months, if not years.
So in the meantime the case is not closed yet, while injured parties, as well as many of those who fear they may develop illness and asbestos related diseases, patiently wait for their compensation.
And they wait, as their New York injury lawyers diligently toil away at the details.
Related Resources
- Ground Zero Workers Reach Deal Over Health Claims (New York Times)
- The Issues Raised by the Recent Proposal to Reopen the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund: Part One in a Two-Part Series of Columns (FindLaw's Writ)
- Asbestos & Mesothelioma (FindLaw's Injury Center)
- Find New York Injury Lawyers (FindLaw Directory)
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