• 9/11 Victim Programs
  • Victim Compensation Fund (VCF)
  • WTC Health Program (WTCHP)
  • Wrongful Death VCF Claims

9/11 Lawyers – Why choose Hansen & Rosasco

Supporting 9/11 Survivors and Families

In the twenty years since the terror attacks of 9/11, there has been a huge increase in cancers in those who lived or worked in lower Manhattan on or during the months after 9/11. There is a proven link between the toxic air from 2001-2002 and cancer diagnosed (and thousands of cancer deaths) in the 20 years since then.

The death toll of individuals who have become sick due to exposure on 9/11 now outnumbers the nearly 3,000 that perished in the terror attacks in New York City, the Pentagon, and at the site of the plane accident in Shanksville, PA.

Hansen & Rosasco has been assisting individuals in the 9/11 community to obtain the compensation and services they need since shortly after the terror attacks. We have gained a wealth of experience and information during that time. We have built a team of legal professionals that help take the stress and confusion out of obtaining medical treatment, monitoring, and compensation for 9/11-related illnesses.

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Why Choose Us?

At Hansen & Rosasco, LLP, we are proud to be one of New York’s premier 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund law firms. We are a team of caring attorneys, paralegals, outreach professionals and staff serving our clients every day. We have helped over 3000 victims since 2001 and have recovered over $300 million for our clients.

Even though over 20 years have passed since that devastating day, we know that the destruction of human lives due to 9/11 continues. New York residents, families, and first responders need Hansen & Rosasco on their side who understand the health and economic challenges they face. They need someone on their side who will stick with them through all the pain and suffering. We have been sticking by the side of 9/11 victims and families since 2001.

We care about our clients, and it shows in the financial awards we have obtained for them. From the start, we will sit down to meet with you (if safe for you during the Covid-19 pandemic), so we can discuss your case and your illness. We want to listen to your 9/11 experience first and learn more about your story, your fears, and your concerns. Most of our clients are scared and devastated to face long-term illnesses such as cancer and chronic disabling breathing conditions. They are good people who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Many rushed into the rubble without fear for their lives. Others were residents who lived in a dust-filled cloud with their families for months in areas such as Tribeca or Battery Park City. Others returned to their jobs in the “toxic soup” area below Canal Street in lower Manhattan just days after the attack when Christine Todd Whitman, the then federal EPA Administrator, declared the air was “safe to breathe” (a statement that will live in infamy for the over 3000 deaths it has contributed to to date). Others were college students at downtown Manhattan universities, such as Pace University and the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), Others were students at downtown high schools, such as Stuyvesant High School and various NYC public schools. Lower Manhattan after 9/11 was our Chernobyl. It is a sad and tragic legacy brought to our shores by terrorists. 

When we represent a client, we are in it for the long haul. We stand by them and fight to help them obtain the benefits and compensation they deserve. Our 9/11 lawyers are lifelong New Yorkers. We lost family and friends due to 9/11 and we know that the pain of that day will never end. That is why we dedicated our practice to their memories and to helping survivors who still suffer. It is this personalized attention and dedication that brings so many New Yorkers to choose us to represent them after they become diagnosed with a 9/11 cancer or lung disease.

At Hansen & Rosasco, LLP, our 9/11 attorneys have helped numerous New Yorkers, first responders, and their families get the benefits and compensation they deserve. To date, we have recovered more than $300 million for our clients, with many receiving awards of over $1 million.

Here are just some of the awards and compensation we secured for our clients.

  • $3.4 million for a downtown Manhattan professional diagnosed with breast cancer and receiving Social Security disability.
  • $3.2 million for a NYPD police officer diagnosed with colon cancer permanently disabled and receiving a disability pension.
  • $3 million for a spouse of a Wall Street broker who died from multiple myeloma.
  • $1.3 million for the family of deceased Tully construction concrete worker at Ground Zero.
  • $1 million for Battery Park resident with breast cancer
  • $884,000 for a Tribeca resident who died from thymus cancer
  • $872,000 for NYU student with rectal cancer.

While past success does not guarantee future results, you can rest assured knowing you are in good hands with our September 11 lawyers. We know what it takes to secure the highest compensation you deserve.

We Were There When the Towers Fell

Hansen & Rosasco Attorneys took their first pro bono case in October 2001, assisting a family who had lost their 22-year-old son when the North tower collapsed. His mother worked at a financial institution at the World Trade Center and had helped her son get the job at the Windows of the World Restaurant on the 107th floor. On September 11th, she escaped the building safely, but her son did not.

After successfully helping this woman—wracked with grief and survivor’s guilt—to obtain the compensation she deserved, we realized that helping the victims of 9/11 is our calling.

We Were There When the Federal Programs Were Created

Within days of the terror attack, Congress had authorized the creation of the original September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF), which provides needed compensation for those most impacted by the terror attacks. The program, which offered an alternative to tort litigation, provided $7 billion in compensation between 2001-2004 under the leadership of then-Special Master Kenneth Feinberg. Around 5,500 claimants received compensation from the original VCF.

By 2010, nearly a decade after the attacks occurred, it had become painfully obvious that the casualties of the attack weren’t just the people in the planes or in the buildings who perished on 9/11.

Instead, a growing number of first responders, general responders, and survivors lived, worked, or attended school or daycare in the 1.5-mile radius around the World Trade Center. They were exposed to the toxic dust plume produced by the towers’ collapse. It blanketed the area for months afterward. Some are only now becoming sick from this toxic exposure.

In response to the ongoing needs of the 9/11 community and the government officials who told workers and residents that the debris was safe to be around, Congress passed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. Then-President Barack Obama signed the act into law in early 2011.

VCF Reauthorization

One provision of the Zadroga Act was the reauthorization of the VCF in 2011, with new eligibility criteria, filing deadlines, and limited funding. The law reauthorized the VCF for five years, and it was reauthorized again in 2015 for another five years. In February 2019, the program’s administrators reported insufficient funds to compensate for all pending and future claims. The decision cut the awards by about 70 percent to preserve available funding.

That summer, then-President Donald Trump signed the Never Forget the Heroes Act into law: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.

The passage of that law extended the filing deadline for VCF claims from December 18th, 2020, to October 1st, 2090, ensuring that anyone who suffered a 9/11-related illness at any time in their life could seek compensation from the fund.

Additionally, the new law requires Congress to appropriate the funds necessary to keep the program viable through the upcoming decades.

Creation of the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP)

In addition to reauthorizing the VCF, the Zadroga Act resulted in another federal benefits program focused on the 9/11 community, the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP).

This program replaced two similar programs—the Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program and the WTC Environmental Health Center Community Program—and was placed under the direction of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), an arm of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and housed within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The WTCHP provides no-cost medical monitoring services for individuals who were exposed to toxins at any of the 9/11 terror attack sites, as well as treatment of 9/11-related medical conditions through its Clinical Centers of Excellence throughout New York City, and through the program’s Nationwide Provider Network.

The program also has a list of covered conditions scientifically shown to be caused by the toxins found in the World Trade Center dust. The program also has a certification process for determining if a program participant’s medical condition was related to 9/11. Although they are two distinctly separate programs, the WTCHP certification of covered conditions can also satisfy some of the eligibility requirements for obtaining compensation through the VCF.

Our Firm has Won Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in 9/11 VCF Awards

SEE OUR TOP AWARDS – WHICH INCLUDE VCF CANCER PAYOUTS – FOR VARIOUS FIRST RESPONDERS AND SURVIVORS HERE.
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Victims Compensation Fund

The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act created the Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) to provide compensation for individuals who suffered physical harm, illness, or disease as a result of the September 11th terrorist attacks or the debris removal efforts that took place.

The VCF is not just limited to first responders. Anyone who worked, volunteered, cleaned up, or lived in the area may qualify. To qualify for assistance, you must be diagnosed with cancer or a 9/11 illness after living or working in the area at some point during the period between 9/11/01 and 5/30/02. Even if you have other genetic or lifestyle risk factors, you can still collect 9/11 compensation funds.

Some of the cancers and illnesses that may qualify you for compensation and/or free lifetime health insurance include, but are not limited to:

This is by no means an exhaustive list. These are just some cancers and illnesses that first responders and New York survivors experienced after the deadly 9/11 terrorist attacks.

If your illness or cancer qualifies you for assistance and compensation, you can rest assured that you have a team of attorneys at Hansen & Rosasco. They dedicated their practice exclusively to helping victims of 9/11 on your side. We know the laws, regulations, and constant revisions and use this knowledge to help you through the application and legal appeals process.

Many diseases, including cancer, can take a long time to develop. The law assumes that if you have contracted certain diseases, even years later, exposure to the September 11 debris cloud caused them. You don’t have to prove that link.

Our Clients Trust Us with Their Stories and Cases

HEAR ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES

The Process of Obtaining 9/11 Benefits Has Grown More Complicated

As these programs have grown in membership, the rules and requirements for obtaining benefits have also changed. WTCHP’s list of covered conditions now includes around 70 different types of cancer linked to exposure to the toxins found at Ground Zero, along with several other chronic and potentially-debilitating illnesses that often affect the respiratory and digestive system.

Some diseases that have been linked to 9/11 and, therefore, can help qualify individuals for these programs include:

  • Acute and traumatic injuries, such as damage to the eyes, brain injuries, and bone fractures experienced on 9/11 or during subsequent rescue, recovery, and cleanup efforts.
  • Airway and digestive disorders such as asthma, chronic cough syndrome, chronic nasopharyngitis, chronic rhinosinusitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), interstitial lung disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and more.
  • Cancers such as blood, breast, childhood cancers, cancers of the colon or rectum, eye and orbit, ovary, head and neck, prostate, mesothelioma, lung and bronchus, skin, soft and connective tissue, and kidney and bladder cancers.
  • Mental health conditions, such as acute stress disorder, adjustment disorder, anxiety disorder, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The WTCHP can certify, monitor, and treat mental health conditions, but the VCF only compensates for physical conditions.

While the covered conditions continue to grow as more studies identify illnesses with a 9/11 link, the list still does not include several prevalent illnesses in the 9/11 community. Because of this, many people in the 9/11 community still don’t qualify for benefits, even if they became sick.

The experienced legal team at Hansen & Rosasco is the only major 9/11 law firm that also handles victims’ claims for benefits through Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). SSDI can, in many cases, provide additional assistance to recipients of WTCHP or VCF benefits. It also provides an important option for those whose conditions are not yet on the list for coverage by WTCHP.

Our Services Have Grown Along With These Programs

When you work with the application and filing processes of the 9/11 benefits programs every day, as our team does, you learn a lot about the process. You learn who makes the decisions on these claims and applications, the evidence needed to prove presence in an affected area during the times of high exposure, how long it takes to decide a claim or application, and how to expedite that process so that individuals who are terminally ill or in an emergency financial situation can obtain help faster.

One of the difficulties with helping the 9/11 community to obtain the assistance needed to face major medical issues caused by toxic World Trade Center dust is making sure that the members of that community know that the programs even exist.

In the twenty years since 9/11, many of the estimated 400,000 people in the area blanketed by that dust have left New York City, left the jobs where they worked at the time, or even left the country. The children who attended schools and daycares in the shadow of the towers have grown up and become adults.

Responders have retired. Life in many ways has gone on for the 9/11 community as it has for others. As far away as they are, however, individuals who experienced toxic exposure due to the 9/11 terror attacks are still at increased risk of dozens of illnesses. Many of these illnesses have long latency periods, meaning new cancer diagnoses may continue to emerge in this community for years.

Our Results

Since 2001, Hansen & Rosasco has assisted more than 3,000 people in obtaining the 9/11 benefits they need—close to half-billion dollars.

Some of our results include:

  • A $3.4 million loss of earnings and pain and suffering award for a Wall Street professional who became 100 percent disabled due to 9/11-related metastatic breast cancer.
  • A $3.2 million award for an NYPD officer who was totally disabled by 9/11-related colorectal cancer.
  • A $2.2 million award for an NYPD sergeant with 9/11-related brain cancer and a WTC disability pension.
  • A $1.7 million award for an NYC firefighter who was disabled as a result of 9/11-related asthma, GERD, sleep apnea, and reactive airway disease.
  • A $1.1 million award for a Battery Park area resident who endured a double mastectomy due to 9/11-related breast cancer and also suffered lymphedema.
  • An $872,000 award for an NYU student who suffered rectal cancer.
  • A $250,000 pain and suffering award for an Alfred Smith Houses downtown Manhattan resident who experienced 9/11-related bladder cancer that was in remission.

Contact Our 9/11 Attorneys Today for Help With Your Healthcare Claims

You were there when the towers fell or lived in the area in the years following the attack. You remember the dust-filled air, the rubble, and the fear. Now, you suffer from a serious and chronic illness or cancer.

You deserve better, and the 9/11 attorneys at Hansen & Rosasco, LLP, can help. We can meet with you to discuss your situation (or have an in-depth free phone consultation) and your concerns. We can then help you apply for federal compensation and healthcare benefits through one or more 9/11 compensation funds. We can even help you apply for Social Security disability benefits to help increase your 9/11 award payout. Call us at (855) 353-4907 or fill out our confidential contact form for more information. We work on a contingency fee, so you will pay us absolutely nothing out of your own pocket. The 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Act caps attorney fees at a reasonable ten percent (10%) of any recovery we obtain for you. For example, if we obtain a $100,000 award for you, you will receive $90,000 and our law firm will receive $10,000. And your award is both federal and state tax free!

Our attorneys are proud to represent 9/11 survivors, first responders and families who were in the NYC Exposure Zone in lower Manhattan below Canal Street between 9/11/2001 and 5/30/2002. No matter where you live now, you may still qualify for 9/11 benefits and compensation. Even if you believe you may not qualify, we want to hear your story and help you explore all your options.

Are you suffering from a 9/11-related condition? Let us help you explore your options for obtaining assistance. Contact us for your free case evaluation.

A couple guys in my union referred me to them and I’m so happy they did. They took care of me and all my paper work. Got my witness done. Filled my health program app so now I can get free health care. Got me my award settlement. All while being incredibly knowledgeable, patient and kind.” -Frank C.

Review: 5 / 5

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