Tag Archives: September 11th

Remembering Our Heroes: Rescue and Recovery Workers To Be Honored At The 9/11 Memorial Site

Ray Pfeifer

Officials recently announced that a permanent dedication to 9/11 Rescue and Recovery workers is being planned and developed at the 9/11 Memorial in lower Manhattan. In a recent press release, 9/11 Memorial and Museum board members, including former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Comedian Jon Stewart, announced that there will be an area dedicated to the thousands of men and women who went to Ground Zero initially for rescue and recovery and then removal of the tons of debris so that the site could eventually be rebuilt. Reuters News reported that in the aftermath of the attacks, more than 91,000 people have suffered illnesses and more than 400 have died. Included in this tragic statistic is Ray Pfeifer who passed away on May 28 after an eight-year battle with 9/11-related cancer that attacked his kidneys, legs, and brain.

Ray Pfeifer was not a professional athlete who helped his team win a World Series or Super Bowl. He was not a celebrity who won numerous awards for his acting ability. He didn’t make billions as an inventor of some high tech computer or communications firm. Yet, he was a giant. He was a hero. That term is thrown around so often that we sometimes forget what the word actually means. According to Miriam Webster, a hero is “a person admired for achievements and noble qualities and one who shows great courage.”

Ray Pfiefer served as a firefighter for the City of New York for 27 years. It was during his day off that he responded to the terrorist attack on the United States at the World Trade Center on 9/11/01. He, along with thousands of others, worked for months on the “pile,” searching for survivors. When it became obvious there was no one to find alive, he continued to search for the remains of those who never made it to safety. He was initially diagnosed with stage 4 cancer six years after his exposure to the toxins on the pile but continued to work as a firefighter until 2014 when he became wheelchair bound as a result of losing his leg to the cancer that would eventually kill him. As the daughter of a retired firefighter and the sister of two firefighters who also worked on the “pile,” his death hits close to home. 

Ray could have spent the last three years of his life after retiring solely on the fight of his life to beat the cancer that was destroying his body – but he did not. Instead, he became a tireless advocate of the James L. Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, commonly known as the Zadroga Bill, which provides health care monitoring and treatment to first responders and was set to expire in 2015. He was a familiar sight in Washington on his electronic wheelchair as he lobbied Congress to pass the bill that would help first responders. He used his kindness and his humanity to shame those who opposed the bill and was instrumental in getting Congress to pass federal legislation that extended medical treatment for another 75 years for those sickened after 9/11. It was during these lobby days in Washington that he met and befriended comedian Jon Stewart who was one of those who spoke at Ray’s funeral mass. 

Ray Pfeifer has been lauded in life, and in death, by many politicians, including U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio who awarded him the key to the City in 2016, and thousands of others who owe him a debt of gratitude that this nation can never repay. His passing is tragic, causing unimaginable pain to those who knew and loved him, but his legacy will remain. He was a true American hero. May he rest in peace.

 

Catherine M. Stanton is a senior partner in the law firm of Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP. She focuses on the area of Workers’ Compensation, having helped thousands of injured workers navigate a highly complex system and obtain all the benefits to which they were entitled. Ms. Stanton has been honored as a New York Super Lawyer, is the past president of the New York Workers’ Compensation Bar Association, the immediate past president of the Workers’ Injury Law and Advocacy Group, and is an officer in several organizations dedicated to injured workers and their families. She can be reached at 800.692.3717. 

 

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Injured As A Result of 9/11? The World Trade Center Accidental Disability Deadline Is Approaching

I recently traveled to Virginia with most of my immediate family to celebrate my father’s 80th birthday. While he is not in the best physical shape, he was clearly touched that we all came to wish him well as he celebrated this milestone birthday. As an added bonus, we also got to visit with my grandmother, Mary Walsh, who will celebrate her 109th birthday in August. 

My dad was a New York City firefighter for many years. Unfortunately, quite a few of his current health issues were caused by his exposure to smoke while battling fires during the worst years – the 1970s and 1980s – the City of New York has seen in terms of firefighting calls. Along with the smoke inhalation, years of carrying heavy packs, rescuing people and sustaining burns, broken bones, and other injuries have wreaked havoc on his body. While he saw more than his share of death and destruction, it pales in comparison to the losses the City sustained on September 11, 2001, when 411 emergency responders, including 343 firefighters, lost their lives. Even more distressing is that according to statistics, more than 850 additional first responders have died as a result of 9/11 related illness since that day. Just two weeks ago in fact, retired firefighter Robert Newman from Patchogue, Long Island, died from cancer as a result of breathing in toxins at the World Trade Center.

Many of these first responders initially retired without realizing the extent of their illnesses, and that they were entitled to compensation for their injuries. While Workers’ Compensation benefits are not available to uniformed employees of the FDNY or NYPD who participated in the rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations, they are still eligible for certain benefits.

In 2005, the World Trade Center (WTC) Disability Law took effect in New York State. This law establishes a presumption that certain disabilities for those who participated in the rescue, recovery, and cleanup at the World Trade Center and other specified sites would entitle them to accidental disability retirement benefits subject to certain criteria including when, where, and for how long they worked at a WTC site. Subsequent amendments expanded the list of individuals eligible, extended the filing deadline, and added qualifying conditions.

The bill allows many police officers and firefighters who retired with non-WTC accidental disabilities to have their retirement reclassified as an accidental disability related to the WTC disaster. Death benefit legislation enacted in 2006 provides an accidental death benefit to certain city and state employees within this same eligibility group. If approved, World Trade Center accidental disability retirement will become effective as of the date of reclassification and not retroactive to the date of retirement.  

If you are disabled, you should file an Application for World Trade Center Accidental Disability

Presumption. If you have not already done so, you must file this Notice on or before September 11, 2018. In order to preserve your right to file at some time in the future if you are presently not disabled, you will also need to file an Application for World Trade Center Notice on or before September 11, 2018.  While you do not need an attorney to represent you, it may be in your best interest to seek the advice of a professional as there are certain restrictions, deadlines, various forms, and qualifying conditions that could make filing the application difficult. 

The after effects of 9/11 continue to take their toll even after all these years, with no immediate end in sight.  We are grateful that there is at least some small consolation for our first responders who should at least not have to be worried about financial issues for themselves and their families. 

 

Catherine M. Stanton is a senior partner in the law firm of Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP. She focuses on the area of Workers’ Compensation, having helped thousands of injured workers navigate a highly complex system and obtain all the benefits to which they were entitled. Ms. Stanton has been honored as a New York Super Lawyer, is the past president of the New York Workers’ Compensation Bar Association, the immediate past president of the Workers’ Injury Law and Advocacy Group, and is an officer in several organizations dedicated to injured workers and their families. She can be reached at 800.692.3717.

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Don’t Miss This Important Deadline For The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund

The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (the Fund) is approaching an important deadline. Anyone who knew or had reason to know of physical harm or illness resulting from the 9/11 attacks before October 3, 2011 is required to register by October 3, 2013.

Registration preserves your right to file a claim in the future (before the Fund ends on October 3, 2016). Registration is not the same as filing a claim and does not commit you to file a claim even if you have registered. If you are uncertain about when your illness began, register by the October 3, 2013 deadline to preserve your right to file a claim.

Please contact us if you have any questions about the Fund or how to file your claim.

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