World Trade Center Litigation BLOG

September 11th Firefighter Gets New Lung & Regains Spirits

Firefighter Lt. Martin Fullam, a client of Napoli Bern Ripka, LLP, is breathing easier now as he finally received a new lung after being diagnosed with polymyositis and pulmonary fibrosis in 2005. It was almost four years after his heroic acts on Sept. 11th 2001, that he started seeing his symptoms. Now Fullam is off of oxygen for the first time in three years and is in great spirits. Fullam is a 27-year veteran fire fighter and although he can now walk on his own he is still very weak from the surgery and his condition. Fullam was off on September 11th, 2001 but took it upon himself and thousands of other fire fighters to do all that they could to help with the attacks on the word trade center. Fullam truly made heroic moves that monumental day as he dove into the debris to try to help and save anyone that he could possibly find. Fullam then spent the next 6 months working in the debris of the world trade center trying to help find people as well as sift through the remains and rubble. It has been reported that, “Doctors cannot absolutely prove that the fire lieutenant's lung disease is a direct result of working in the contaminant-filled air of ground zero following the terrorist attack.” However, working and remaining in the debris for the better part of a year did not help his condition. Although Fullam does not know when he will be able to work again, his is currently getting disability benefits from his long time stint as a New York City Firefighter.

This is just one example of a heroic act finally receiving the medical attention that is much needed and deserved. It took a lot of effort for Fullam to receive the benefits and coverage of costs for him to be able to receive the surgery. There are so many other WTC firefighters, policemen, and debris clean up workers that are also suffering from the adverse effects of working at the WTC site. People took it into their own hands to be there for the city of New York, and yet it seems that the city is not completely there for them when they need it. Whether it is in regards to medical expense incurred from working at the very hazardous WTC site or from the physical toll it took on their bodies. WTC workers that were injured in the acts of doing their jobs are finding it rather difficult to receive the medical attention that they need and deserve from the state. The WTC Captive Fund that was set up to cover the medical expenses for those who got injured at the WTC site are finding it rather difficult to gain any of this money. It seems that the Fund is getting exhausted paying for lawyers and administration on the other side of the incident. If you or a loved one was injured from working at the WTC site, please contact our WTC lawyers and Napoli Bern Ripka, LLP.

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