Troy Rosasco, Partner, Turley, Redmond, Rosasco & Rosasco, LLP, and Daniel J Hansen, Partner, Turley, Hansen & Partners, say more payouts are being made from the $2.775 billion 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) to applicants this month than were made 12 months ago. Zadroga Act attorneys Mr. Rosasco and Mr. Hansen also report continuing to see many applicants suffering from career-ending 9/11-related cancers, non-cancerous conditions, or combinations of both, as the result of inhaling airborne toxins from the Ground Zero site.

On January 15, Sheila Birnbaum, Special Master, 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, announced that, as of January 2, 2015, there were 9,677 claimants eligible for compensation and, of those, 3,128 compensation determinations were made with a total valuation of $804,116,233.47. This is a tenfold increase from January 2014, when just 323 awards were made with a total valuation of $135,501,249.14, according to the most recent 9/11 VCF data.

“This improvement is attributable in large part to the increase in complete submissions from claimants and the cooperation the VCF has received from many employers and unions and from medical providers who have helped to provide the information necessary to determine compensation,” Ms. Birnbaum said in a statement. “As claim submissions have increased, I have increased the staff to enable prompt review and evaluation of claims. As we get closer to the final claim submission deadline, I expect to see an increase in compensation submissions and I will continue to adjust staff and forge relationships as appropriate to facilitate prompt and accurate compensation determinations.”

On July 1, 2011, the federal government passed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which provides $4.3 billion for healthcare and compensation benefits, including medical monitoring and treatment for both 9/11 survivors and first responders, and reopens the VCF to compensate victims as a result of loss of earnings and pain and suffering related to their illnesses from Ground Zero. Since the 9/11 attacks, more than 30,000 responders, survivors and area residents have become sickened and more than 70 firefighters and 60 New York City police officers have died as a result of 9/11-related illnesses.

The Zadroga Act is slated to expire in 2016, but local members of Congress have introduced legislation to extend the deadline to the year 2041.

“Turley, Hansen & Partners has seen a significant increase in both the number and sizes of 9/11 VCF awards since the last report,” Mr. Hansen says. “Our law firm has succeeded in obtaining awards of several multimillion-dollar awards for clients to date, and we expect more in the near future.”

“The 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund quite naturally gives more scrutiny to potential large awards involving career ending injuries, and these awards often take longer to process,” adds Mr. Rosasco.

For more information, call 1 (855) WTC-INFO or visit www.zadrogaclaimsinfo.com.