New legislation has extended the deadline for workers who participated in World Trade Center’s recovery efforts to seek lost wages and medical benefits.
September 11, 2018 is the new date for individuals to submit a WTC-12, also known as the Notice of Participation, with the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board.
The extension affects participants who contributed to the rescue, recovery and clean-up of the World Trade Center. These workers and volunteers now have more time to file a sworn statement and keep open their right to apply for workers’ compensation, lost wages, medical benefits, disability, accidental death benefits and other benefits at a later date.
The extension was signed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on September 11, 2016, the fifteenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
“Though September 11th may feel like an eternity ago, we still feel the pain and the loss like it was yesterday, and the thousands of brave men and women who stepped up in our darkest hour are still grappling with the aftereffects,” Governor Cuomo recently stated. “We vow to do whatever we have to do to provide these brave men and women and their families the benefits they deserve. The volunteers and workers raised us up in our time of need, and we will ensure they get the resources and the support they need.”
“The 9-11 registry reopener law is important and will help our members and other New York first responders who may get sick as result of their work in the wake of the terrorist attack on our city,” said Steve Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, the union for New York City firefighters.
Those participants who have not yet registered a claim with the World Trade Center Registry are encouraged to submit a WTC-12. The form covers participants who were employed or volunteered at Ground Zero, Fresh Kills Landfill, the barges, the piers and the morgues, regardless of injury. If a notice of claim is duly filed and accepted, it will preserve the right of the worker or volunteer to apply for benefits in the future.
Download the Notice of Participation form here. Feel free to contact Sullivan Papain Block McManus Coffinas & Cannavo for questions regarding your eligibility or claim with regards to Workers’ Compensation and the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.
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