Ground Zero Settlement
After a seven-year legal battle, a ground zero settlement has finally been reached. More than 10,000 police officers, construction workers and firefighters sued the city of New York over health problems they suffered after working in the ruins of the World Trade Center. Over 95% of the workers have agreed to the settlement.
The ground zero settlements total at least $625 million. Individual payments will depend on how sick the plaintiff is. Payouts will range from $3,250 to $1.8 million for the most severely injured.
Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein threw out a smaller settlement for the ground zero workers in March. He claimed the city didn’t offer enough money and that the lawyers were taking too large a cut. In response, the lawyers reduced their fees from a third to a quarter of the settlement.
Throughout the process, there was disagreement over which illnesses were actually caused by the toxic dust around ground zero, and which ones might have occurred anyway. Many of the 520 plaintiffs who rejected the 9/11 settlements felt they were being shortchanged because they weren’t afflicted with a qualifying illness. They were worried they’d fall ill in the future and wouldn’t have the money for proper care.
Others claimed there was no certainty in the agreement. They believed once the claims administrator evaluated their histories, the payments could be reduced.
Those who chose to opt out of this ground zero settlement will continue their lawsuits before Judge Hellerstein.
For more information on recent and noteworthy settlements, check out our section on settlements in the news.
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