An official website of the United States government. . This includes lawsuits based on theories of aiding and abetting or assisting an attempt to commit a terrorist act. Required documentation for withdrawn 9/11-related lawsuits: You must submit proof of timely withdrawal of your lawsuit with your claim. Settled fully and release tendered on or before the date on which NIOSH added the individuals eligible condition to the list of qualified physical injuries. See Section 405(c)(3)(A)(i) of the VCF Act. Official government documents showing your residential address within the NYC Exposure Zone during the relevant period, such as W-2 forms, signed and dated tax returns, applications or documents in support of public housing residency, or copies of benefits payment stubs. The VCF considers medically associated conditions in determining the appropriate amount of compensation. About Prostate Cancer. By doing so at an appeal hearing, the VCF can ask clarifying questions to help evaluate the claim. You must register for each of these programs separately. When you submit your complete claim form and we begin reviewing your claim, we will review each presence document. The VCF encourages you to register now. If you are not being treated by the WTC Health Program, you must seek certification for your condition(s) through the WTC Health Program. Note: The automated process will not confirm sufficiency or completeness of these documents this will be done by a VCF team member during preliminary review. The letter will explain why the document(s) was not sufficient, and will include information about what you can do to correct the document, or suggest additional ways you may prove your presence. If the WTC Health Program has certified your condition, you do not need to submit medical records to support a claim for non-economic loss at the lowest end of the range for your eligible condition. In all other cases, we will not process your claim until we receive notification from the WTC Health Program that you have been certified for at least one physical condition. See. If the WTC Health Program notifies us that you have been certified for an eligible physical health condition, we accept that certification as proof of your eligible condition, subject to the other requirements for eligibility. You should therefore also submit other evidence (such as contemporaneous documents or Witness Presence Statements) demonstrating that you were physically present at a 9/11 crash site or in the NYC Exposure Zone. If you were present because of your work, the Third Party Verification Form is the preferred way to show you were there. You must first attempt to obtain an appointment from the state probate or surrogate court where the victim lived. (LockA locked padlock) The VCF will accept claims with settled 9/11-related lawsuits if you meet the following conditions: You may have settled all your claims and, in that case, as long as the lawsuit was commenced after December 22, 2003, and the release was tendered by January 2, 2011, you can submit a claim to the VCF. Prostate Cancer. If you were a contractor for ConEd, ConEd is unable to provide information regarding your presence at the site within the relevant timeframe. If you were employed by Bank of America (or one of its predecessor companies, including Merrill Lynch), and worked at an office located in the NYC Exposure Zone at any point during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, through May 30, 2002, Bank of America may be able to provide you with a letter verifying your presence. 104.61, any person who has filed or is a party to a lawsuit seeking damages for injuries sustained as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, or for damages arising from or related to debris removal may not file a claim with the Special Master unless they withdraw from such action not later than January 2, 2012.. This is condition specific that is, timely dismissal based on specific conditions does not render earlier conditions for which an individual may be certified or verified (on which a lawsuit was not timely dismissed) eligible for compensation. If your claim is denied, you can amend your claim once you have the necessary documents and the VCF will reactivate your claim for review. Similarly, if you have an eligible condition that the VCF has identified as presumptively severe and debilitating, you do not need to submit medical records to qualify for the highest non-economic loss award allowed by the statutory caps. 107-71, to provide compensation for any individual (or a personal representative of a deceased individual) who suffered physical harm or was killed as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, or the debris removal efforts that took place in the immediate aftermath of those crashes. You should also submit other evidence (such as contemporaneous documents, Witness Presence Statements, or affidavits) demonstrating that you were physically present in the NYC Exposure Zone during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, through May 30, 2002, when you submit your claim. The WTC Health Program only provides the VCF with the name of the condition, the WTC Health Program category under which the condition falls (for example, Cancer or Upper Respiratory Disorder), and the associated medical diagnosis code. If you have a document that you believe can be used to prove your presence at an eligible location and it does not fall into one of the categories below, you should submit the document to the VCF to be reviewed. 114-222, may still file a VCF claim. Is Prostate Cancer Screening Right for You? The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund ("VCF") was created on September 22, 2001, by Public Law No. We will review the Witness Presence Statement as part of the review of your claim and will contact you if additional information is needed. Note: The VCF cannot provide information about private settlements. If the VCF needs additional information from you after reviewing your claim form and the letter, the VCF will contact you. See the. As a general rule, the compensation you receive in this iteration of the VCF (VCF2) will be calculated based on the amount of compensation any similarly situated person who filed a claim only in VCF2 would receive; any compensation you received in VCF1 will then be applied as an adjustment to the award. If you are filing a claim on the victims behalf, you must submit the documents that are required for the VCF to validate your authority as an authorized representative. Registration is not the same as filing a claim. [6] All witness statements in support of presence must use the Witness Presence Statement form. In cases meeting these criteria, where withdrawal or dismissal occurred after January 2, 2012, only newly covered conditions will be considered eligible for compensation. Some limitations do not interfere with the VCFs ability to validate the Personal Representative, while other limitations may impact the VCFs ability to process the claim. If we are unable to confirm presence by speaking with the employer or organization, then the VCF will contact you to explain what we need and to request additional documents that show where you were and when you were there. If we need something further in order to determine your eligibility, you will receive a missing information letter. Each document submitted must clearly pertain to the named victim and identify the date(s) and location(s) of the victims WTC-related service. The VCF does not require any of the forms to be completed by your physician; you may complete the Treating Physician Information Form.. Dismissal/withdrawal before January 2, 2012 (notice of withdrawal will suffice). As a result, FDNY firefighters and fire officers do not need to submit any documents as proof of presence at the site unless the VCF specifically requests such documents. Individuals who were working as Installers at the Verizon building at 140 West Street in the week after 9/11; and. The initial list of presumptively covered conditions has been modified four times since the VCF reopened on October 3, 2011 first on October 12, 2012, when certain cancers were added; a second time on October 21, 2013, when Prostate Cancer was added; a third time on February 18, 2014, when the definition of Rare Cancers was revised; a fourth time on August 4, 2016, when new-onset COPD and WTC-related acute traumatic injury were added; and a fifth time on January 18, 2023, when Uterine Cancer, including endometrial cancer, was added. If you are submitting statements from witnesses as proof of your presence, you must use the VCF Witness Presence Statement form. Undefined malignant neoplasms also qualify. Once you submit your claim, it proceeds through an Automated Document Check process as a first step before it moves to Preliminary Review. If you ask individuals to complete the Witness Presence Statement in support of your presence, and the Statements are the only proof of presence you plan to submit in support of your claim, you must submit Statements from a minimum of two people and at least one must be from an individual who is not related to you or to the Personal Representative or Guardian (when applicable). You can notify us by uploading a note to your claim, or by calling our Helpline. VCF Pain and Suffering Compensation for 9/11 Cancers Under the Zadroga Act, a 9/11 responder or survivor may be awarded up to $250,000 for non-economic losses related to their cancer condition. Show that you have a 9/11-related physical injury or condition that is certified for treatment by the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program or, in limited circumstances, that you have a physical injury or condition that was treated by your private physician and verified as 9/11-related through the VCFs, Show that you were present at one of the attack sites, within the. Therefore, you should still submit other evidence (such as contemporaneous documents, Witness Presence Statements, or affidavits) demonstrating that you were physically present in the New York City Exposure Zone during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, through May 30, 2002. Non-Disabling Cancer Awards The following are some of the hundreds of noneconomic loss awards that the VCF has issued to our clients with non-disabling cancers and other WTC-related illnesses. In most cases, being diagnosed with an additional 9/11 illness will not change the amount of a VCF award that was previously issued. As a result, ConEd employees do not need to submit any documents as proof of presence at the site unless the VCF specifically requests such documents. If one or both of these documents are missing, the system will automatically move the claim to Inactive status and an automated Missing Information letter will be generated. We will send you a Missing Information letter if the documents you submitted do not have the detailed information we need in order to prove you were there. When you submit a VCF claim, you waive your right to file a civil action (or to be a party to an action) in any federal or state court for damages sustained as a result of the terrorist- related aircraft crashes of 9/11, or for damages arising from or related to debris removal. VCF II opened in October 2011 and was originally authorized to accept claims for a period of five years, ending in October 2016, with a final year for processing and paying claims until October 2017. By statute, the VCF may not compensate for psychological conditions, but the WTC Health Program provides mental health treatment as part of their healthcare services. Rule for Newly Covered Conditions and Lawsuits Filed Before November 16, 2016:[3] If the condition for which you are seeking compensation from the VCF was added to the list of qualified injuries after January 2, 2012, you must meet the following requirements in order to be eligible for compensation from the VCF: In cases meeting these criteria, where settlement occurred after January 2, 2011, only newly covered conditions will be considered eligible for compensation. Many individuals have asked about gathering documentation now to support their presence for a potential future claim given that the VCF is open to take claims until October 1, 2090. All documents submitted with your claim are subject to verification and authentication procedures undertaken independently by the VCF. It is also helpful if you specify your job title within EMS during the period beginningon September 11, 2001, through May 30, 2002. The VCF does not require you to submit original documents. If you were found eligible for compensation in VCF1, you are eligible to amend your claim and seek additional compensation. If this happens, the VCF will contact the employer or organization to try and get additional details. These timeframes are different for each category of injuries and conditions. Although the VCF encourages you to file your claim after you have been certified by the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program for a 9/11-related physical health condition and as soon as the full scope of your claimed losses are known so that your claim for compensation can be reviewed as quickly as possible, the last date on which anyone can file a claim is October 1, 2090. The VCF is available to not only first responders, but also to those who worked or volunteered in construction, clean-up, and debris removal, as well as people who lived, worked or went to school in the above-described exposure zones. The court order establishing that the action has been discontinued and/or dismissed, or the notice/letter of withdrawal filed on the ECF system in the relevant docket, must be dated on or before the date you submit your claim or amendment. In limited cases, the FDNY may be able to provide documents and/or information directly to the VCF regarding proof of an EMS members presence at the site. You should also submit other evidence (such as contemporaneous documents, Witness Presence Statements, or affidavits) demonstrating that you were physically present in the NYC Exposure Zone during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, through May 30, 2002, when you submit your claim. You should contact the FBI Call Center at 202-324-3333 to request the FBI proof of presence letter and once received, upload it to your claim or mail it to the VCF. Court orders, such as custody or guardian agreements, that clearly show your address at that time. Thus, as a general matter, the VCF will rely on certification by the WTC Health Program that the individual is eligible for treatment for a particular physical injury or condition under the WTC Health Program. You do not need to submit any additional information to demonstrate your presence at the site. See Section 2.1.a Valuation of non-economic loss for a listing of conditions considered to be presumptively severe. The maximum noneconomic award for any one type of noncancerous condition is $90,000. The original VCF (VCF I) operated from 2001-2004 under the direction of Special Master Kenneth Feinberg, and distributed over $7 billion. Note that this is not a comprehensive list of acceptable documentation. Claims can be filed at www.claims.vcf.gov/account/loginor on a hard copy claim form. Rental agreement, proof of rent payment, mortgage receipts, and/or utility bills that list your address within the NYC Exposure Zone. Dismissal/withdrawal before submitting the VCF claim or amendment (notice of withdrawal will suffice). PCF & The VA: Shepherding Extraordinary Care. You should still submit other evidence (such as contemporaneous documents, Witness Presence Statements, or affidavits) demonstrating that you were physically present in the NYC Exposure Zone during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, through May 30, 2002, when you submit your claim. NOTE regarding Deceased Claims: If you are filing a deceased claim (i.e., a claim filed on behalf of an individual who is believed to have died as a result of an eligible 9/11-related condition), all claims for lost earnings or benefits must be made, and all supporting documents must be submitted, before the VCF finalizes substantive review of the compensation claim. All Claimants who received coverage for certain cancers under a Critical Injury Insurance policy through Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife) as part of their 9/11-related lawsuit settlement are required to provide the VCF with a copy of their policy document and the amount of any payment received under the policy. For further details on the WTC Health Program process and guidelines, please visit the WTC Health Program website. However, if you were at an eligible location between September 11, 2001, and May 30, 2002, you should consider gathering your proof of presence documents now, even if you are not sick and do not intend to file a claim at this time. If you have your WTC Notice of Participation which was filed with the NYCERS Pension Fund to preserve your right to file for a WTC disability retirement or reclassification in the future, you should submit it with your claim as it may support presence for purposes of your VCF claim. The maximum non-economic loss for any one type of cancer condition is $250,000, and the maximum non-economic loss for any one type of non- cancer condition is $90,000. You can notify us by uploading a note to your claim, or by calling our Helpline. We also understand that some individuals have registered with the VCF to preserve their right to file a claim in the future, but are currently not sick and therefore are not eligible to file a claim unless their circumstances change at some point in the future. The form includes detailed instructions on how to complete it and where to send it once it is complete. Therefore, Claimants who allege presence based on work with the National Guard will still need to submit other evidence (such ascontemporaneous documents, Witness Presence Statements, or affidavits) demonstrating that they were physically present in the NYC Exposure Zone during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, through May 30, 2002. Prostate cancer is the most common type of non-skin cancer in the United States. For more information, please see the information on. Once you have qualified and received a completed proof of presence letter, you can upload it to your online claim or mail it to the VCF. Your prior eligible condition has substantially worsened, resulting in damages or loss that was not previously compensated. The VCF will consider a number of factors to determine the appropriate award including whether the cancer has spread, will recur, or cause permanent complications. Please see Section 1.4.e for more information specific to mental health conditions. Among reported VCF awards: $3.7 million for an NYPD officer disabled due to leukemia; $2.8 million for a sanitation worker with skin cancer; 2.1 million for a stock broker with multiple. Different types of documentation are required depending on the representatives relationship to the victim. The person you ask to be a witness must have been 18 years old or older on September 11, 2001. The Registration Deadline isnotthe same for everyone. Please view our definitive presence guide for a quick reference on some of the following entities. There are specific requirements for the date on which your 9/11-related lawsuit must have been filed, withdrawn, dismissed, or settled and released in order to be eligible for compensation from the VCF. See Section 1.11 for more information about VCF1 claims. If you believe that you will suffer significant hardship in seeking certification by the WTC Health Program, you should upload a statement or letter to the claim explaining the circumstances and why you should be considered for the Private Physician process, The World Trade Center site, the Pentagon site, or the Shanksville, Pennsylvania, site. The VCF has instructions for uploading documents to the online system. Kreindler has been helping 9/11 victims since 2001, and to-date, we have helped our clients recover more than $3 billion through the Victim Compensation Fund. Please also see Section 1.9 for additional important information about these records. 75 pages or more), you must highlight the relevant information relating to the severity of your condition, or provide a written guide or statement directing us to the pertinent information, so the VCF can assess your non-economic loss. The statute requires that, to be eligible, you must have at least one WTC-Related Physical Health Condition. Examples of contemporaneous documents that may be helpful in proving presence are listed below. If the VCF needs additional information from you after reviewing your claim form and the letter, the VCF will contact you. If you have an eligible 9/11-related physical condition, it does not mean that you are guaranteed to be compensated by the VCF. You must provide this email address when you call and specifically request they email the letter to the VCF. The VCF understands that it is becoming increasingly difficult for some claimants to find documentation supporting their presence at an eligible location after so many years have passed. The VCF will review these submissions on a case-by-case basis and will notify you of any additional information required. If you were a Red Cross volunteer in the NYC Exposure Zone during the period beginning September 11, 2001, through May 30, 2002, the Red Cross may be able to provide documents and/or information directly to the VCF regarding your presence at the site. This may happen if the completed form does not provide sufficient detail regarding your presence (i.e., your actual work or volunteer location and confirmation that you were present at that location at some point during the requisite time period), or about the source of the information used to complete the form. You should contact human resources by email at PayrollTimekeeping@buildings.nyc.gov and request that they directly send the VCF a WTC verification letter. Please be sure to select the correct document type when uploading documents to claims in the online system. Note: the VCF does not accept electronic signatures on any of its forms and documents. Note: The VCF has agreements with certain employers, unions, and other organizations to provide information about presence in support of VCF claims. You should know that the VCF may ask for additional proof of presence, even when your employer or volunteer organization submits a Third Party Verification Form directly to us. Collectively, the laws governing the VCF are referred to below as the VCF Act.. This is true regardless of the date on which the earlier condition is certified or verified. Failure to provide detailed information relating to presence will result in the VCF sending you a Missing Information letter, which may result in your claim being denied if we are unable to get the additional detailed information needed to verify your presence. If you were a CWA member who worked for Lucent Technologies in 2001, the VCF may be able to obtain records confirming presence. Thus, the amount of compensation you received in VCF1 will be considered when determining whether additional compensation should be awarded. The documents listed in the sections below are examples of the most common types of documents used to demonstrate presence at an eligible location. It is very important that you ask the Service Center to email the letter to the VCF official email address: VCF.Thirdpartyverification@usdoj.gov. You should check to see if your organization is listed in that section before identifying the documentation you need to submit with your claim. The VCF will contact you if any additional information is needed. If your claim is denied for lack of proof of presence, it does not mean the VCF does not believe that you were present during the relevant timeframe. The person you ask to be a witness must have personal knowledge of your presence at a 9/11 crash site or along the routes of debris removal. For civilian NYPD members, please refer to Section 1.7regarding documents needed to demonstrate proof of presence. If you were represented by Douglas & London or Napoli, Bern, Ripka, Shkolnik (Napoli Bern) in your lawsuit, you generally do not need to submit additional documents related to your settlement because the VCF may be able to get the necessary information from Douglas & London or Napoli Bern. If you are the parent of a young adult child and are helping your child with his or her VCF claim, the claim form must be completed by the adult child as a self claim in the victims name, with all applicable exhibits and supporting documents signed by the victim. This means that you waive your right to be party to a future lawsuit even before the VCF determines whether or not you are entitled to compensation. Those dates are: October 12, 2012, for the various cancers identified in the WTC Health Program rule of the same date, February 18, 2014, for Rare Cancers that meet the definition as explained by the WTC Health Program on the same date, January 18, 2023, for Uterine Cancer, including endometrial cancer. NOTE: The documents listed below are not sufficient on their own, but will be reviewed in conjunction with other documents showing you were physically at the address during the relevant timeframe. Minimum Award:$90K+ . [4] The VCF and the WTC Health Program use two different geographic areas and two different timeframes during which an individual needed to be at a 9/11 site. Please contact the unions Safety & Health Department at 212-815-1685 and explain that you are interested in obtaining this information, if available. Once the VCF receives your Claim Form and the completed Exhibit A Authorization for Release of Medical Records- the VCF will request information directly from the WTC Health Program to determine whether you have an eligible condition. The WTC Health Program provides options for treatment of psychological conditions, including post-traumatic stress. Learn more. If you are filing a claim on the victims behalf (i.e., as a Personal Representative for a deceased victim, or as the legal guardian for an incapacitated adult), you must show that you have the legal authority to do so. We will explain both the World Trade Center Health Program, Victim Compensation Fund and qualifying cancers covered by Zadroga Bill in more detail during your appointment. In many cases, the VCF can obtain additional information from third parties. This could happen anytime between now and when the WTC Health Program closes in 2090. You do not need to submit any proof of presence with your claim. $340,000 for a downtown office worker with skin cancer and larynx cancer $340,000 for a retired NYPD officer with cancers of the colon and mouth 116-34. The VCF has an arrangement with the FDNY in which the FDNY will provide documents directly to the VCF regarding proof of a FDNY firefighters or fire officers presence at the site. The VCF might also increase an award if your certified condition worsens. Note: The VCF is not able to pay any physician for providing this information or documentation. Blood in the urine, frequent urination, a slower-than-normal urine flow, erectile dysfunction, and blood in the semen following ejaculation are all signs of prostate cancer. You do not need to be sick or to have been diagnosed or certified with a 9/11-related condition in order to register. VCF I concluded operations in June 2004. To do so, the VCF needs the WCB number associated with the individuals Workers Compensation claim. Lawsuits filed after November 2016are prohibited by the general statutory requirement that a claimant cannot have an active 9/11related lawsuit at the same time as a VCF claim. If you were employed by Verizon and worked at a Verizon office located in the NYC Exposure Zone during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, through May 30, 2002, Verizon may be able to provide you with a letter verifying your presence.