Second, you may pursue a civil action against any person who is a "knowing participant in any conspiracy to hijack any aircraft or commit any terrorist act." The geographic area used to confirm an individuals presence for purposes of their VCF claim can be found at https://www.vcf.gov/nycExposureMap.html. This is true regardless of the date on which the earlier condition is certified or verified. The VCFAct provides that the award from settlements in civil suits regarding injuries related to 9/11 will be counted as a collateral source offset. First, you may pursue a civil action to recover collateral source obligations. You should file your claim only after you have been certified by the WTC Health Program for a 9/11-related physical health condition. Therefore, settlement payments from lawsuits that were timely settled and released will be deducted from VCF awards. For more information, please see the information on. The VCF Permanent Authorization Actfully funded the VCF and extended the VCFs Claim Filing Deadline until October 1, 2090. VCF I concluded operations in June 2004. You should contact the employee verifications team by email at hrsd.employee.verifications@jpmchase.com and request that they directly send the VCF a work location history letter. The VCF will review the information and, as appropriate, will submit the information to the WTC Health Program for assistance in verifying that your condition meets the definition of a 9/11-related condition. 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. Required documentation for settled lawsuits: In the body of the email, please include your first name, last name (maiden name, if applicable), your date of birth, and the VCF official email address, VCF.Thirdpartyverification@usdoj.gov, which is where human resources can directly send their response. You may submit either a court order establishing that the action has been discontinued and/or dismissed, dated on or before January 2, 2012, or a notice/letter of withdrawal filed on the Electronic Case Files (ECF) system in the relevant docket on or before January 2, 2012. The VCF does not require any of the forms to be completed by your physician; you may complete the Treating Physician Information Form.. 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. If the VCF needs additional information from you after reviewing your claim form and the letter, we will contact you. To do so, the VCF needs the WCB number associated with the individuals Workers Compensation claim. Examples of contemporaneous documents that may be helpful in proving presence are listed below. You should submit documents reflecting your WCB number. Therefore, settlement payments from lawsuits that were timely settled and released will be deducted from VCF awards. Please note that the NYPD will not be able to provide the VCF direct access to the below listed documents. 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. Many of the third-party entities with whom we exchange information on your behalf also do not accept electronic signatures. If the VCF needs additional information from you after requesting documentation from ConEd, the VCF will contact you. To ensure there is no delay in the processing of your claim, please submit your document(s) with the appropriate signature where required. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Box 34500, Washington, D.C. 20043; and request the employer verification letter to confirm your work location between September 11, 2001, and May 30, 2002, for your 9/11 Victim Compensation claim to be sent directly to the VCF at our official email address, VCF.Thirdpartyverification@usdoj.gov. The form includes detailed instructions on how to complete it and where to send it once it is complete. In most cases, being diagnosed with an additional 9/11 illness will not change the amount of a VCF award that was previously issued. When you call, you will be asked to provide your full name so the Service Center can look up your work history. Workers injury reports dated on or before September 11, 2003, documenting treatment of your injury that occurred at the site. These are the conditions that the VCF will consider when calculating the amount of your award. You may register at any time, so long as you do so before your individual deadline as outlined above. Minimum Award:$90K+ . Examples of lawsuits that fall into this category include (but are not limited to) the following lawsuits filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York: Claimants who participate in a lawsuit under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), Pub. But if the new condition is a cancer and the award was only based on a non-cancer, you might consider amending your claim. If you are unable to obtain these types of documents, the Special Master will consider sworn Witness Presence Statements from people who can attest to your presence at a 9/11 crash site or in the NYC Exposure Zone. 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. In order to process a claim filed by someone other than the victim, the Special Master must first validate the individuals authority to represent the victim for the VCF claim. In addition, if you were found eligible to receive compensation in VCF1, in most cases, you do not need to submit proof of presence in support of your claim. The VCF Act establishes certain caps on non-economic awards for physical injury claims. Once we confirm we have a complete Signature Page and Exhibit A, we contact the WTC Health Program for information about your certified condition(s). Please note that the VCF does not receive copies of your medical records as part of our information-sharing agreement with the WTC Health Program. Thus, the amount of compensation you received in VCF1 will be considered when determining whether additional compensation should be awarded. The VCF Act explicitly prohibits the VCF from compensating for Mental Health Conditions. You can notify us by uploading a note to your claim, or by calling our Helpline. The two types of primary evidence described above (Third-Party Verification or Contemporaneous Documents) are the best evidence that an individual was present during the relevant period. Learn more on the VCF's Registration and Claim Filing Deadlines page. Learn more. The amount usually awarded by the VCF for non-melanoma skin cancer . Dismissal/withdrawal before January 2, 2012 (notice of withdrawal will suffice). College, school, or day care records and transcripts confirming enrollment or attendance during the relevant time period must be accompanied by one of the following two certifications: (1) Accuracy: A certification in the form of an accompanying letter, or a certification within the document (common on transcripts) from an employee of the college, school, or day care facility certifying the accuracy of the records; OR (2) True Copy: A certification in the form of an accompanying letter from from your legal counsel (if an attorney is assisting you with your claim) certifying that the document is a true and accurate copy of what they received directly from the school/daycare facility. Individuals who were working as Installers at the Verizon building at 140 West Street in the week after 9/11; and. [5] Please note that this is different from the rules applicable to the WTC Health Program. $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 Certain CWA members completed a CWA WTC Recovery/Cleanup Effort Exposure Information form, which was distributed by some CWA local unions and then provided to the CWA District 1 office upon completion. Our 9/11 VCF attorneys offer their services to you on a . On January 2, 2011, the President signed into law the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 (Zadroga Act), Public Law No. Once you receive the letter, you should upload it to your claim or mail it to the VCF. Your proof of timely withdrawal or dismissal of any remaining claims must be dated no later than the date you submit your claim or amendment seeking compensation for that condition. 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. A claim has reached the final stages of substantive review when the status in the online system moves to Determination Made: Processing. The VCF will not allow any amendment in a deceased claim after a substantive determination on the compensation claim has been made, except in limited circumstances. See VCFAct,Section 405(c)(3)(C)(i). Note: The VCF has agreements with certain employers, unions, and other organizations to provide information about presence in support of VCF claims. Here are popular VCF payout questions answered: 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. 114-113. [3] The VCF clarified the rule regarding lawsuit dismissals and newly covered conditions in November 2016. Enrollment in the WTC Health Program does not automatically register you with the VCF and if you are being treated by, or monitored through, the WTC Health Program, you are not automatically eligible for compensation from the VCF. If the VCF needs additional information from you after reviewing your claim form and the letter, the VCF will contact you. Note for Local 1101 CWA Verizon employees, including Empire City Subway: we have an arrangement with CWA Local 1101 to get information directly from them for members who participated in the World Trade Center response. You will still need to submit other evidence (such as contemporaneous records, 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. In many cases, the VCF can obtain additional information from third parties. If you submit voluminous medical records (i.e. 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. For civilian NYPD members, please refer to Section 1.7regarding documents needed to demonstrate proof of presence. To be eligible for a VCF payout for prostate cancer the main eligibility criteria for the fund is that you were present on Canal Street as a first responder or in another capacity between September 11, 2001, and May 30, 2002, and developed an injury or illness because of it. 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. [6] All witness statements in support of presence must use the Witness Presence Statement form. Lawsuits filed after November 2016 are prohibited by the general statutory requirement that a claimant cannot have an active 9/11related lawsuit at the same time as a VCF claim, and filing a lawsuit after November 2016 waives your right to file a claim with the VCF. You do not need to submit any proof of presence with your claim. See Section 1.11 for more information about VCF1 claims. Hansen & Rosasco 9/11 lawyers represented and won $3.2 million for "loss of earnings" and "pain and suffering" VCF awards for a NYC police officer who became completely disabled by 9/11 . The VCF has detailed information on VCF policies and procedures. 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 a Sanitation employee during the period beginning onSeptember 11, 2001, throughMay 30, 2002, the VCF will contact the Sanitation Department to confirm your presence in the NYC Exposure Zone. 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. A complete copy of each document must be submitted, unless otherwise specified below. The resource includes information on eligibility criteria, the methodology used to calculate economic and non-economic loss, payment procedures, appeals and hearings, claims for deceased individuals, and information for claimants who are represented by an attorney for their claim. The lawsuit was commenced after December 22, 2003, and a release of claims in such lawsuit was tendered by the individual, or by the individual's attorney (provided the attorney has authority to tender the release) prior to January 2, 2011; You dismissed any claims that were not settled on or before January 2, 2012. Please note that you can seek certification for treatment from the WTC Health Program for purposes of your VCF claim and still be treated for your certified condition by a physician outside of the WTC Health Program. If you are not certified by the WTC Health Program and have no other determination that your condition is 9/11-related, then you may register at any time. 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. Documents in this category should be certified or be accompanied by a letter from an employee of the school or day care facility, or from your legal counsel (if an attorney is assisting you with your claim), confirming that the document submitted is a true and accurate copy. Prostate Cancer. Please keep in mind, however, that VCF staff will not be reviewing these documents for sufficiency until your claim form and all required supporting documents are submitted. Note that these records provided to the VCF do not include all NYCTA employees who were involved in the emergency response effort. The Private Physician process is available only in the following limited circumstances: If the VCF determines that you are an appropriate candidate for the Private Physician process, the VCF will contact you and ask you to provide certain medical records and other information from a non-WTC Health Program physician. If you were a civil officer or employee in any branch of the Government of the United States and worked at a 9/11 crash site or in the NYC Exposure Zone during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, through May 30, 2002, your employer may be able to provide you with documentation to verify your presence. Proof of Presence documents as specified in, VCF Client Authorization Form (on a form to be provided by your attorney, if applicable) to deposit the payment on your claim to your attorneys bank account or an, Your court order may include limitations. Unsettled claims withdrawn/dismissed on or before January 2, 2012. For further details on the WTC Health Program process and guidelines, please visit the WTC Health Program website. Official websites use .gov By doing so at an appeal hearing, the VCF can ask clarifying questions to help evaluate the claim. This includes lawsuits based on theories of aiding and abetting or assisting an attempt to commit a terrorist act. 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. In order to save administrative expenses so that there would be more money for awards and to have uniformity, the Victim Compensation Fund Special Master determined that the VCF would follow the World Trade Center Health Program list of covered conditions when . Please note that this option is generally available only when legal or geographical obstacles mean that the representative is unable to open an estate to obtain an appointment. Victim Compensation Fund payouts are available for prostate cancer 9/11 claims. The Registration Deadline isnotthe same for everyone. The VCF makes one award for the non-economic loss, also referred to as pain and suffering. NOTE: The parent should not be listed on the claim form as an Authorized Representative as this designation is only applicable to Personal Representatives of deceased individuals, and court-appointed guardians of incapacitated adults. 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. Settled fully and release tendered on or before January 2, 2011. This includes confirming that (a) the claim was registered by the applicable deadline, (b) you have an eligible 9/11-related physical condition, (c) there is sufficient documentation to demonstrate that you were present at the site, and (d) any 9/11-related lawsuits have been timely resolved. The original VCF (VCF I) operated from 2001-2004 under the direction of Special Master Kenneth Feinberg, and distributed over $7 billion. Date by which lawsuit must be Dismissed/Withdrawn/Settled, After 12/22/2003 and before November 16, 2016. 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. We will call the individual when we need to understand an inconsistency, confirm what appears to be a minor error (such as a date shown as 2011 instead of 2001), or to verify information already contained in the Witness Presence Statement. were created contemporaneously with your alleged exposures. 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. 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 rapid spread of advanced prostate . The VCF needs very specific information and details in order to establish your presence on the basis of such statements and these statements will serve as acceptable proof only if the VCF determines that they are sufficiently reliable. The VCF Act provides that the award from settlements in civil suits regarding injuries related to 9/11 will be counted as a collateral source offset. You must identify all 9/11-related lawsuits when you submit your claim form. 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. Generally, the VCF provides compensation for the physical injuries and conditions that the WTC Health Program has found to be related to 9/11 and therefore are on the list of conditionsestablished by the WTC Health Program. A denial means the documentation you submitted in support of your presence was not sufficient to meet the VCFs needs. Having an eligible condition is only one of the necessary criteria for compensation. The VCF Lead Personal Representative Designation Form includes information about the role of the Lead PR, and a summary of the rights and responsibilities of the other co-Personal Representatives. The Registration Deadline is determined according to claim type, and varies based on individual circumstances. You should provide this form to individuals who witnessed you at the site or in the NYC Exposure Zone during the relevant time period. 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. You must submit at least two of the following documents if you intend to rely on them to establish presence: If you need help obtaining documents to demonstrate that you were present at the site, please contact the Police Benevolent Association at 212- 298-9144. or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. If an attorney signed and submitted the release on behalf of the individual or the individual's dependent, spouse, or beneficiary, a copy of the retainer agreement with the attorney in the settled lawsuit must be submitted as proof that the attorney was authorized to sign the release. An official website of the United States government. If your physical injury or condition is certified for treatment by the WTC Health Program, the VCF will generally find the injury or condition eligible subject to confirmation that other elements of eligibility, including presence at the site, are documented. [1] Please note that a determination of this sort, which is sufficient to establish that the claimant reasonably should have known that he or she was eligible to file a claim, is not necessarily sufficient to establish that a claimant suffers from an eligible condition or that the claimant has a disability that warrants an economic loss award. Every year, another 15,000 Veterans are diagnosed with prostate cancer. If you were employed by the New York State Police (NYSP) and worked in the NYC Exposure Zone during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, through May 30, 2002, you can contact the NYSP Medical Monitoring Unit via phone at 518-485-5044, or via email at hresource@troopers.ny.gov, to request a letter documenting the dates and locations of your deployment to the NYC Exposure Zone during that time period. 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. 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. 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. To be eligible for compensation, the VCFAct requires an individual to have suffered physical harm or death as a result of one of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, or debris removal. If we need something further in order to determine your eligibility, you will receive a missing information letter. Learn more here: JAMA Patient Page: Screening for Prostate Cancer. It is therefore possible that an individual may be present for VCF purposes, but not eligible to be certified for treatment by the WTC Health Program, and therefore not eligible for compensation from the VCF. The WTC Health Programs general guidelines are summarized below. Different types of documentation are required depending on the representatives relationship to the victim. If you were employed by the FBI and worked at a 9/11 crash site or in the VCFs NYC Exposure Zone during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, through May 30, 2002, the FBI can provide you with a letter verifying your presence at the site. Individuals who received respirator training and were certified or approved to use those devices at Ground Zero on or before October 3, 2001. The VCF will review these submissions on a case-by-case basis and will notify you of any additional information required. The person you ask to be a witness must have been 18 years old or older on September 11, 2001. If your claim is denied, we encourage you to request an appeal following the directions in the letter so that you can provide testimony in support of your claim. 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. PCF & The VA: Shepherding Extraordinary Care. The VCF encourages early registration for all potential claimants, even if you are not sick or certified by the WTC Health Program, as it helps us establish our priorities, plan for our work, and process all claims as quickly as possible. The VCF (which stands for "Victim Compensation Fund") provides financial compensation for those who were physically injured or died as a result of an eligible 9/11-related illness (these include cancer claims ). For some claimants, telling their story about their time at a 9/11 crash site or in the NYC Exposure Zone is the only way to prove their presence. In some cases, ConEd may be able to verify that an individual worked for ConEd during the relevant timeframe but may not be able to confirm the actual location of where the individuals work was performed. Exhibit A Authorization for Release of Medical Records(, Original and signed Exhibit A Authorization for Release of Medical Records(. We encourage you to visit the WTC Health Program website to understand the complete details for each specific injury and condition and the process used to evaluate each individuals unique circumstances. 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. [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. Note: the VCF does not accept electronic signatures on any of its forms and documents. TheVCF Act provides that you may either seek compensation from the VCF or you may file a lawsuit, but you cannot do both except under certain circumstances as explained below. Note for CWA Local 1101 Members: The VCF has an arrangement with CWA Local 1101 to get information directly from them for members who participated in the World Trade Center response. For more VCF information or for questions, visit the VCF website or call the VCF directly at 1-855-885-1555. Medical records or insurance claims showing your home address. See. The VCF considers medically associated conditions in determining the appropriate amount of compensation. Additional information about the VCF appeals and hearings process can be found in Section 4. This includes Personal Representatives filing a claim for a deceased victim, and court appointed guardians filing a claim for an incapacitated adult. 116-34. The VCF works directly with ConEd to obtain information for ConEd employees who assert that they participated in the World Trade Center response while working for ConEd. This is true regardless of the date on which the earlier condition is certified or verified. You do not need to be sick or to have been diagnosed or certified with a 9/11-related condition in order to register. The VCFAct states that if an individual tendered a release after the VCFAct was enacted on January 2, 2011, the individual is not eligible for the VCF. The VCF will contact you if any additional information is needed. We will compare this number to records we received to confirm that you were present during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, through May 30, 2002. If you have at least one certified or verified 9/11-related physical injury or condition and meet all of the eligibility criteria to receive compensation, you may also be eligible for payment for other physical injuries or conditions that are not included on the list of presumptively covered conditions (and that are therefore not certified or verified) and that resulted from your 9/11 exposure if you have presented extraordinary circumstances. 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. If you are certified by the WTC Health Program for a physical health condition, the two-year registration period is counted from the date of the, If neither of the above applies, but you qualify for the VCFs. 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.