Will Dust and Cancer Illnesses Be Included in the Zadroga Health & Compensation Act?

The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act which passed in December of 2010 was created to treat victims who were injured or have become ill as a result of the World Trade Center attacks of 2001. Zadroga Act eligibility requires that the injured or sick has medical and scientific evidence that their illness or sickness is related to 9/11. Periodically, ilnesses will be reviewed to determine if cancer should be added to the list of approved and covered health conditions. As of right now, the official position is that cancer has not been proven yet to be caused by the toxins caused by the collapsing towers; and as such, is not yet covered by the Zadroga Act.

In fact, even the New York detective the act is named after, Detective Zadroga, has not yet been added to the list of deaths caused by 9/11 - as the medical examiner claims Zadroga did not die as a result of inhaling ground zero dust while working at the scene of the attacks, but rather his death was related to injecting prescription drugs.

Another police officer, George Wong, died from gastric cancer last week. He and the family have always assumed his cancer was caused from the hours he spent at Ground Zero in 2001 directing traffic. His death certificate shows the doctor contributed the death to the toxic 9/11 particles. The day of Officer Wong's wake, the family was called by the medical examiner's office as they wanted to look at the body to determine if he did in fact die from exposure to the toxins at Ground Zero. Results of that exam are still pending, but shows that there is still a number of questions as to what qualifies as deaths from the terrorist attacks.

As New York attorneys, we walked through the cloud of dust after the attack on the twin towers and contended with the soot and fumes. We are focused on helping first responders and workers who were involved in 9/11. Our Zadroga lawyers have extensive knowledge of these claims and can help you. For more information, call the Law Office of Markhoff & Mittman today at (866) 205-2415.