World Trade Center Litigation BLOG

After the first exhaustive report was done on the 10,000 ground zero workers’ medical records, it implies that the workers are not as sick as they made out to be. The city’s review, found that as many as 30 percent of the workers reported nothing more than common symptoms like runny nose or cough. Their records, according to the review, did not indicate that doctors had ever diagnosed a specific disease. What the lawyers for the city also found was that many documents were incomplete and inconsistent, making it hard to determine when and for how long their illnesses continued.

However, the lawsuit that the city faces is due to claims of firefighters, police officers, construction workers and others who say they became ill because they were not given proper breathing equipment during the nine-month rescue and recovery operation at ground zero. The city is facing a large financial responsibility to the workers if the court deems it necessary. Therefore, it would be in the city’s best interest to play down the claims from the workers to negate their liability.

The workers’ lawyers, William H. Groner, Paul J. Napoli, &David E. Worby, have largely criticized the review stating that it was skewed and largely inaccurate. What the lawyers for the workers are stating is that the city has yet to release a detailed analysis of the claim. The workers did in fact undergo a broad range of illnesses such as respiratory or gastrointestinal sicknesses, but also more serious conditions like cancer, chronic pulmonary disease and sarcoidosis, a lung-scarring disease

Thousands of injured works waiting the decision of the case could not go back to work post 9/11. This is affecting the daily lives of so many that no rock should be unturned. Thousands of lives that fought and saved lives are being set aside, and the city and its contractors could be forced to pay $1 billion or more in compensation if they are found to have been negligent in not ensuring that the workers received breathing masks and wore them

One of the city’s concerns is that there is thousands of missing medical documents. These documents are important to locate so that both sides can come up with a system, known as a severity chart, to classify injuries by type and seriousness.William H. Groner, who with Paul J. Napoli and David E. Worby is representing the workers in court, said so many diseases were listed because of the possibility that they could be linked to the dust. We were trying to protect our clients, because we just didn’t know if they were related," Mr. Groner said in an interview. Mr. Groner accused the city of distorting the true medical condition of the workers, saying that many upper respiratory ailments like runny nose can be symptoms of or precursors to debilitating lower respiratory problems and obstructive lung diseases.

The thousands of ground zero workers have been out of work and injured for nearly seven years and have yet to see a light at the tunnel. The city questioning 9/11 workers’ illnesses is like a knife in the back. Yes, we know that up to a billion dollars is going to be rewarded however. what many seem to overlook is that workers are showing minor symptoms now that may result in worse conditions in the future. Therefore it is the workers right to see their case in court. Napoli Bern Ripka supports 911 rescue workers that have experienced medical problems due to their working conditions and have yet to be compensated for it. Napoli Bern Ripka is doing everything they can to get the compensation for the rescue workers, and encourages people to participate in the Journey for 911. If you are a 911 rescue worker who is still waiting for compensation for medical bills, please don’t hesitate to contact us.