Recent Blog Posts

One of the most common questions we get asked is: when will I receive my VCF award? Generally, the fund prioritizes claims based on when the claim was received – with older claims reviewed before newer claims. But there are a few exceptions. If you have a terminal illness or are at risk of severe […]

In addition to the 100,000 first responders who were in Lower Manhattan on and after 9/11, there were another 400,000 survivors – workers, residents, and students and teachers – in the 9/11 exposure zone. As a result of their exposure to Ground Zero toxins, all of them have a dramatically higher risk for 69 different […]

Today, February 6, 2025, would have been the 67th birthday of FDNY Firefighter Raymond J. Pfeifer, a 9/11 hero and Barasch & McGarry client. Ray Pfeifer’s advocacy helped to create permanent health and compensation benefits for 9/11 community members with cancer or respiratory illness and their families. After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Ray Pfeifer […]

January is National Thyroid Awareness Month. If you were there as a 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 thyroid cancer. Within days of 9/11, the […]

January 5, 2024 marks the nineteenth anniversary of the passing of NYPD Detective James Zadroga, a Barasch & McGarry client. Detective Zadroga’s illness demonstrated the crisis of toxic exposure at Ground Zero and was a crucial part of the campaign to secure health care and compensation for half a million 9/11 responders and survivors. A native of North […]

Today, January 2, marks the fourteenth anniversary of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, named in honor of hero NYPD Detective James Zadroga, a Barasch & McGarry client. The act established the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program and reactivated the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF), providing free health care and compensation to responders and survivors who […]