Sick 9/11 Recovery Workers Take Lawsuit To State Supreme Court

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index...=203&aid=71761

July 17, 2007

Workers who say the toxic air at the World Trade Center site made them sick took their claims to State Supreme Court Tuesday.

The lawsuit asks for money from a billion dollar federal fund to cover the workers' medical expenses.

The fund was set up four years ago and more than 10,000 workers attempted to collect money for their medical bills, but not one person has been reimbursed.

Lawyers representing the workers call the city's actions shameful.

"Mayor [Michael] Bloomberg knows that these men and women, thousands and thousands of them are suffering today from all kinds of respiratory problems, from cancers,” said Marc Burn, who is representing the Trade Center workers. “Many do not have the means to get medical treatment. Many people are looking and begging for medical treatment. With more than a billion dollars there Mayor Bloomberg has said, ‘no.’"

The mayor says that even though he supports the idea of coverage for 9/11 workers, the funds in question were set aside by Congress only to pay legal fees as a result of lawsuits against the city.

The money is controlled by the World Trade Center Captive Insurance Company.

The group is already part of a class action suit claiming the toxic environment is linked to a variety of disease and ailments.