Victim Compensation Fund

There were dozens of schools in the Ground Zero exposure zone on and after 9/11, from Stuyvesant High School in Battery Park City to Murry Bergtraum High School on the Lower East Side. In addition, there were other educational institutions, including Pace University, New York Law School, and the Borough of Manhattan Community College. Tragically, […]

August 1 is World Lung Cancer Day. If you were there as a first responder or you worked, lived, or studied in Lower Manhattan on or after 9/11, you have a higher risk of developing many respiratory illnesses and 69 different types of cancer resulting from exposure to Ground Zero toxins, including lung cancer. Within […]

July is Sarcoma Awareness Month. The half a million first responders and people working, living, and studying in Lower Manhattan on or after 9/11 have a dramatically higher risk of developing respiratory illnesses and 69 different types of cancer, including sarcoma. Barasch & McGarry represents more than 125 members of the 9/11 community who have been […]

Today, we honor the extraordinary legacy of NYPD Detective Luis G. Alvarez, a 9/11 hero whose testimony persuaded Congress to establish permanent compensation benefits for 9/11 victims and their families, on the sixth anniversary of his passing. Detective Alvarez, who appeared before Congress with comedian and 9/11 advocate Jon Stewart, died only 18 days later, of colorectal cancer he […]

Since it was created by the Zadroga Act in 2011, the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund has provided tax-free awards for pain and suffering, lost earnings, and benefits for surviving spouses and family members of responders and survivors who have been diagnosed with 9/11-related cancer and respiratory illness. If you were there in Lower Manhattan below […]

June is National Cancer Survivors Month. There are more than 17 million cancer survivors in the United States today, including thousands of 9/11 community members. If you are diagnosed with any 9/11-related cancer or respiratory illness, Barasch & McGarry can help you access resources through the free World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program and the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF).  […]