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partnerships with the World Trade Center ("WTC") Health Program and 9/11 advocacygroups, . A special responsibility. If SSA or another entity found you disabled based on a condition that is not eligible for compensation by the VCF, please do not contact SSA or the other entity to request that they change your disability determination solely for the purpose of obtaining VCF compensation. If you do not submit complete information about your benefits, the VCF will apply its standard default values: a 401k employer contribution equal to 4% of base salary and $2,400 per year for health insurance. These conditions include rhinitis, sinusitis, rhinosinusitis, tracheitis, laryngotracheitis, laryngitis, nasopharyngitis, and pharyngitis. An official website of the United States government. An additional $9 million was provided by the State of New York in 2016. We will still review your claim to see if it includes reimbursable expenses that you incurred before the applicable condition was certified. The VCF focuses on recent documentation, from within three years of the claim submission date, when evaluating non-economic loss. Mesothelioma. Anybody with a physical health certification from the WTC Health Program and/or medical proof that they suffer from a condition the federal government has linked to 9/11 can qualify for an award for "pain and suffering", also known as "non-economic loss." Once the VCF confirms that you have met the eligibility criteria, we begin initial review of your compensation information. 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 ). The following information, which is used to calculate the victims pension. Non-Cancer VCF Payouts | Victim Compensation Payouts If you believe that your SSA earnings history does not fully account for future earnings potential, then you must provide documentation supporting any argument that the VCF should take into consideration other information in determining future earnings. Note: The non-economic award is not automatically tied to the degree of disability (to the extent there is an occupational disability determination as a result of an eligible 9/11-related physical injury or condition). If you do not appeal, we authorize payment within 20 days of the end of the 30-day appeal period. If you are filing a deceased claim (i.e., a claim seeking wrongful death losses because the victim died as a result of his or her eligible 9/11-related condition), and the victim received or was entitled to receive a disability pension before death, or the victims beneficiaries are receiving or are entitled to receive a survivor pension, you must submit that information before the VCF finalizes the substantive review of the compensation claim. Attorneys on Your Side. To help the VCF understand the severity and effect of your condition, you may want to submit supporting documents related to your condition with your claim. The VCF has further revised its policy with regard to non-economic loss claims for non-cancer conditions, and our ability to appeal those awards. In the early years of the WTC Victim Fund, claims for personal injury were awarded amounts that ranged from $500 to $8.6 million. If you have already filed your claim requesting economic loss, but you have a disability application pending or you are qualified to apply for disability, you should notify the VCF immediately that there is a pending disability application or that you intend to apply. Once the award is calculated, we send you a letter explaining the breakdown of your award and an option to appeal within 30 days if you believe an error was made in the calculation. The VCF has arrangements with NYCERS and NYSLRS, whereby these entities provide directly to the VCF the information and documentation needed to evaluate disability, lost earnings, and pension benefits for its members (living and deceased), upon receipt of a completed Exhibit B1. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. If you submit medical records, please highlight the relevant information in the records so the VCF can easily find the pertinent information or provide a written guide or statement directing us to the relevant pages. Those registered . To maintain the privacy of individual claimants and beneficiaries, the Fund will not list names or any other identifying information that might easily lead to the identification of individuals who have received or been notified of awards. Documentation showing the Effective Date and the victims final grade, step, and location the best source of this information is the most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) prior to retirement. Our review includes: determining non-economic loss based on the severity of physical harm; calculating economic loss, including past and future lost earnings (if claimed); and confirming collateral offsets, including payments received from pension funds, life insurance, SSA, Workers Compensation, and settlements from 9/11-related lawsuits. Here is a look at the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) and the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010.. Facts From 2001 to 2003, the September 11th Victim Compensation . Second, everything we do must be faithful to the statute that authorizes our work, the VCFAct (codified at 49 USC 40101 Note, Title IV). Death claims averaged a compensation amount of $2,082,128. Kreindler has been helping 9/11 victims since 2001, and to-date, we have helped our clients recover more than $3 billion through the Victim Compensation Fund. 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Formula & Payouts The work-life expectancies are shown in Table 2 below. The maximum amount for eligible non-cancer conditions is $90,000. In those cases, the VCF may use the later date that is, the date when the victim actually suffered a loss in earnings. 1. The amendment may be filed at any time following receipt of your initial award determination, but no later than October 1, 2090. In addition to evidence of a compensable loss, you must submit information about collateral source payments that the VCF may be required to offset against a lost earnings award. If the WTC Health Program has certified your condition, no further documentation is necessary to support a claim for non-economic loss; the VCF will award non-economic loss at the lowest end of the range for the applicable condition based solely on the WTC Health Program certification. See Section 5 for additional information about amending your claim. The severity of the 9/11 health condition The type of condition, cancer, or illness The ways that the condition has impacted the responder or survivor's life Contact a New York City 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Attorney Treatment expenses billed to you as a co-payment, after denial of insurance coverage, or that you pay because they fall within your insurance deductible, may be reimbursed if appropriate documentation is submitted. Deferred or vested compensation from employment. Expenses you incurred after the date of certification are not eligible for reimbursement. . The WTC Victim Compensation Fund has a long historyafter several reauthorizations, the Fund got permanent financing when the Senate almost unanimously voted for its permanent authorization. Award Payment Statistics - September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 Please keep this in mind when considering whether to seek certification of additional conditions through the WTC Health Program. The victims most recent Earning and Leave Statement prior to retirement may have all of this information except the Effective Date, so if that document is submitted in place of the SF-50, the claimant will need to also provide his/her Effective Date. Table 4 below shows calculated consumption rates by income bracket and for various household sizes. For example, an employer might provide a statement showing your compensation history and time periods where you missed work and were not compensated. In determining household size for claims for decedents, the Special Master will assume that children will remain in the household through age 23. For married or single individuals with dependents,[5] these expenditure categories include Food, Apparel & Services, Transportation, Entertainment, Personal Care Products and Services, and Miscellaneous. Likewise, the calculations of economic losses also assume that the personal consumption percentage corresponding to the victims determined compensable income bracket as of the date of death, or time the victim was unable to work or had to reduce work as a result of eligible conditions, applies for the remainder of the victims career, without decrease. If that is the case, then the VCF must determine the extent of that loss. In some cases, the VCF will apply a computation of future residual earnings for individuals who are disabled from a specific job but who are otherwise able to perform a different occupation. Disabling conditions that fall in one category will not be deemed equivalent to conditions that fall in another category. Do not use this form if you have had a decrease in a collateral source payment and would like to request that the VCF review your award. How Much Is The VCF with Cancer Claims Payouts - Parker Waichman LLP If your medical expenses claim does not meet the documentation requirements described in this section, the VCF reserves the right to deny the claim. For each FDNY victim who is claiming loss of future earnings and benefits and has provided the appropriate authorization, the FDNY sends the VCF the following information, which the VCF uses to calculate economic loss: Generally speaking, because we receive this information directly from the FDNY, anFDNY victim who has been granted a disability pension does not need to submit any additional pension documentation unless the claimant asserts loss from non-FDNY employment. Treatment expenses covered by private health insurance, Workers Compensation, or other programs will not be reimbursed. Personal Injury Claims:If you have already filed a claim for medical expenses as part of your personal injury claim form submission, the VCF will not review the expenses as part of our initial review of your claim. Where survivor benefits being paid to a disabled child may continue after age 18 but are subject to evaluation for continuing disability, the Special Master has discretion not to deduct them to extent they cannot be determined with reasonable certainty. Facts From 2001 to 2003, the September . Congress amended the Public Safety Officers Benefits Act (42 U.S.C. When is VCF Compensation Awarded Above the Statutory Cap? It is not possible to define and categorize in advance every possible collateral source deduction. Depending on their circumstances, FDNY victims should submit either two, three, or five documents (depending on their specific situation as explained below) to demonstrate that they have been found disabled as a result of a VCF-eligible condition or injury. Here are popular VCF payout questions answered: Moreover, the VCF will not disregard a determination that attributed your disability to an ineligible condition, even if it was later changed. Each of these types of loss is explained in the sections below. [2] Effective income tax rates derived from IRS data for New York are shown in Table 1 below. See theWTC Health Program Disability Evaluation Process for complete details on the Process. In many cases, these issues are best addressed in the context of an appeal hearing. Victim Compensation Fund continues to offer relief to 9/11 survivors Pending disability applications: What to do if you are waiting for a disability decision from a government entity or insurer. 6. Thus, if you retired on a disability pension due to an eligible condition, the VCF will only offset that pension to the extent it is greater than the amount you were entitled to receive as a service pension. How Much Are VCF Cancer Payouts? - Top Class Actions If a claimant requests and is approved to enter the Process, a WTC Health Program physician will conduct a one-time disability evaluation of the claimant and prepare a disability evaluation report, which the claimant will submit with his/her claim. If you are claiming economic loss, we obtain information and documentation from various third parties, such as the Social Security Administration (SSA), the FDNY, the NYPD, and the New York State Workers Compensation Board, regarding your disability, earnings history, and/or pensions if we have not already done so as part of our preliminary eligibility review. Note: an SSI disability finding may support a claim of lost earnings. Rare Cancers. [4] Application of individualized unemployment rates by age or occupation was infeasible and determined to be unnecessary. The letter will explain the next steps to take on your claim. A member of the Kreindler 9/11 VCF team can discuss all of these factors with you. The VCF cannot award lost earnings for a disability that is not clearly related to an eligible condition. Employment- related benefits include pension programs, retirement contribution programs, and health benefits. It may also include documentation that was included in the claimants pension file and was reviewed in the course of the disability determination process. The 9/11 Victim Count Is Still Climbing, and Hundreds of - Newsweek Generally, the Special Master will consider the three calendar years of employment history before the decrease in the victims earnings capacity as a result of the victims disability due to the eligible conditions or the victims death, but the Special Master also may consider other factors or other years or combinations of years in evaluating the claim. This section describes the evidence you must submit to substantiate your claim for lost earnings. For example, documents that show hospitalization, surgery, emergency treatment, and/or treatment for side effects of the condition. If the victim has more than one type of cancer, the Special Master may issue an award that makes an adjustment above $250,000 to account for multiple cancers. Tax benefits received from the Federal Government as a result of the enactment of the Victims of Terrorism Tax Relief Act of 2001 (Pub. The fund, which was opened in 2011, compensates for deaths and illnesses due to exposure to toxins at the sites of the Sept. 11 attacks. In many cases, these circumstances are best addressed in the context of an appeal hearing. The Special Master will exercise discretion in valuing the appropriate deductions for collateral offsets by determining the following: While it is not possible to define in advance every possible collateral source deduction, the following general illustrations should provide guidance: The following are NOT considered collateral offsets: The Special Master has discretion to determine which offsets should be applied to which losses. Age, start of loss and compensable income: Establish the victims age and compensable income at death or at the time the victim was determined to be unable to work by a governmental entity, or had to reduce work, and suffered a loss of income as a result of eligible conditions. Please only submit documents that are related to your 9/11-related eligible physical conditions. If you believe you meet this threshold, you should request special circumstances consideration on appeal after your initial award has been determined. 2. . 1.8%, and 1.2%, depending on the average time to maturity consistent with the average duration of presumed losses. Replacement services loss is intended to replace something that was lost that is, something the victim used to do. The terrorist events of September 11, 2001, left thousands of victims injured or killed by the hijacked airplanes used to attack the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and other U.S. targets. You must be certain any documentation you provide meets the requirements outlined in Documentation Required to Support a Medical Expenses Claim below. If you become entitled to receive additional collateral source payments after an initial notification to the VCF, you will need to submit a new form to advise the VCF of this update. See the Collateral Source Offsets section for more information. It was determined that the benefit to the claimants of calculating the decedents personal consumption offset as a percent of after-tax individual earnings more than outweighed the potential effect of discounting future amounts by income-specific after-tax discount rates. Typically, the VCF's . A letter from the union/Con Edison/Verizon stating the following: The type of pension you are receiving (e.g. The WTC Volunteer Fund provides medical and indemnity (cash) payments for volunteers who are disabled as a result of their efforts. If you have a diagnosis of melanoma skin cancer that you believe may be related to 9/11, click or call our Kreindler 9/11 VCF team at 877-505-0090 for helpful answers about your eligibility for compensation. Because published estimated work-life expectancies by gender are lower for women than men, this specification increases the duration of estimated foregone earnings, and thus presumed economic losses, for female victims and was implemented by the Special Master to accommodate for potential increases in labor force participation rates of women. The collateral source offsets will not include monies or other investments in the injured victims or decedents 401(k) accounts. Please review the details below specific to personal injury and deceased claims. For example, if a victim is certified for two different types of non-melanoma skin cancer for example, basal cell and squamous cell or for one non-melanoma skin cancer at multiple sites, the award will generally be in the range of $90,000. Some Workers Compensation laws, both domestic and foreign, contain provisions that would allow the insurance carrier to assert a lien against an award issued from the VCF. Work-life expectancy: Determine a measure of the victims expected remaining years of workforce participation using the tabulated work-life expectancies for the victims age at the time of death or at the time the victim was unable to work, or had to reduce work, as a result of eligible conditions contained in the publication, Gary R. Skoog, James E. Ciecka, Kurt V. Krueger, The Markov Model of Labor Force Activity 2012-17: Extended Tables of Central Tendency, Shape, Percentile Points, and Bootstrap Standard Errors, Journal of Forensic Economics, Volume 28, Issue 1 (2019), pp. Since the VCF was reauthorized last year, claims for non-cancer conditions have routinely been awarded the lowest possible amount, absent medical records to support the severity of the condition. We will not process your claim until a determination on your disability application is made. The average death claim was compensated at $2,082,128. 9. These rates are shown in Table 5 below. Below is a sample of some of our recent awards for our clients: $4.4 million. Official websites use .gov As a general rule, under the terms of the VCF Act, the Special Master has identified the following conditions as presumptively less severe and debilitating and thus warranting lower awards, absent medical documentation of severity, than the highest allowable for a non-cancer condition: Asthma/RADS, Barretts Esophagus, Bronchiecstasis, Chronic Airway Obstruction, Chronic Bronchitis, Chronic Cough, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Rhinitis, Esophagitis, Gastroesophageal Reflux (GERD), Laryngitis, Nasopharyngitis, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Pharyngitis, Respiratory Conditions due to Fumes or Vapors, Rhinosinusitis, Sinusitis, and Traumatic Injury or Musculoskeletal Disorder. If you do notrespond to our missing information request after 30 days, we will render a decision based on the information contained in your file at that time. Given the volume and variability of claims, and the legal requirement that the Special Master consider individual circumstances in each case, however, it is not possible to cover every potential situation in this document. Specifically, the NY Workers Compensation law, Section 29(1-b) provides as follows: 1-b. Valuing Your Victim Compensation Fund Award - Pitta & Baione Thus, there is a possibility in those states that payments to a victim or family member of a decedent might ultimately be subject to repayment from the VCF award. The VCF has an arrangement with the PSOB program to exchange information regarding the status of any claim, the amount of any award determination and payment, and the basis of the award determination. The cost NIOSH incurs in reimbursing treatment under the WTC Health Program. Moreover, the VCF will not reconsider or recalculate any component of the VCF1 award or change any assumptions made in the VCF1 calculation. You must complete and submit a consent for release of SSA information (Exhibit 1 to the Claim Form) in order for the VCF to obtain this information. These rates of increase are consistent with the long- term relationship between economy-wide wage growth and risk-free interest rates, which currently reflect lowered inflationary expectations. Note that proof of exacerbation is required to support an additional award for economic loss in VCF2 if economic loss was awarded in VCF1. If you are receiving a pension (either directly or as a beneficiary of a decedent), you will be required to submit: In general, the VCF will use the following procedures and assumptions for determining future lost earnings for both deceased and injured victims: 1. Therefore, this information should be viewed as a general guide to how the VCF implements our fundamental principles: fairness to the claimants, faithfulness to the statute, and accountability to the public, in the service of compensating demonstrable loss caused by an eligible condition. If you did not have SSA earnings (e.g., worked outside the United States or do not have a Social Security number), then you must provide other documents demonstrating earnings including tax returns, statements of profit/loss from a business (if self- employed), W2 forms, 1099 forms, pay stubs, or employment offer letters. A decedents expenditures were calculated as a share, based on household size, of certain expenditure categories. In addition to evidence of a disability and a compensable loss, you must submit information about collateral source payments that the VCF may be required to offset against a lost earnings award. The VCF awards compensation to 9/11 responders and survivors who have been diagnosed with health conditions linked to the toxins in the dust cloud. For example, you may submit a letter from your employer describing the retirement benefit or paystubs that reflect the employers contribution to your retirement account. A personal statement discussing the impact of the eligible conditions on your life. In general, the standard amount used to calculate future residual earnings capacity is the minimum wage applicable to large employers in New York City ($31,200 in 2018). A Pension Work History or similar document from the union, showing the number of hours worked and credits earned in every year of work. As of the end of 2021, the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund has paid out almost $9.4 billion dollars to 9/11 victims and their families. Similarly, payments from other government or private entities that are subject to liens may not be offset from the VCF award if sufficient evidence of the lien is submitted. Charitable gifts - the final regulations clarify that benefits from charities (privately-funded charitable entities) disbursing private donations will not be treated as collateral source compensation, even if such charities were created or managed by governmental entities. The VCF also offers compensation for non-economic losses to the families of 9/11 victims who died as a result of the attacks or subsequent debris removal. If you do appeal, payment is authorized once a decision is rendered following your appeal. The VCF will consider claims for medical expenses only if the total amount legitimately claimed in your amendment exceeds $5,000. This includes last 5 years total earnings prior to retirement, including salary, holiday pay, night shift differential pay, and overtime. A schedule containing age-specific earnings growth rates reflecting the combined inflation, overall productivity, and life-cycle increases is shown in Table 3 below. The VCF has made initial award determinations on 34,464 eligible claims (see chart below), and has issued at least one amended award determination on . [8] Because the period of presumed economic losses is either longer or shorter, depending on the victims age, the present value calculations are performed using yields on a blend of securities with longer or shorter times to maturity. To calculate economic loss, the VCF must first determine whether there is in fact a compensable loss. For example, you could submit letters or reports from specialists who treated your eligible conditions. Administrators of the VCF fund calculate the award amounts with a complex formula that takes into account where they were located during the period of eligibility and the amount of time they were exposed to toxic elements. Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) Awards & Payouts | Barasch & McGarry How are Economic Loss and Non-Economic Loss Determined for VCF Awards If you filed a claim for economic loss and have since decided that you do not want the VCF to review your economic loss claim, you may withdraw that portion of your claim at any time by filing an amendment. By law, the VCF can only compensate for losses caused by eligible conditions related to the events of September 11, 2001. The VCF may also, in an appropriate case, make a replacement services award in a personal injury claim where the claimant did not have prior earned income or worked only part-time outside the home. Economic loss is pecuniary loss caused by an eligible condition: loss of earnings or other benefits related to employment, the cost to replace household services previously provided by the victim, certain past medical expenses, and expenses associated with a burial or memorial service in the case of a deceased victim. For example, if a claim is submitted on January 1, 2020, recent medical records are those dated after January 1, 2017. VCF Factsheet - WTC Health Program - CDC These are generally accepted tables of work-life expectancy regarding the general population. Are VCF Awards Taxable? A 9/11 Attorney Explains PDF The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF): Background and The VCF will treat all conditions in the category of Upper Respiratory Diseases (URD) as equivalent. After your award is received, any changes in entitlement to survivor benefits, such as a determination of continuing disability at age 18, should be reported on the Collateral Offset Update Form.. 107). Chronic rhinosinusitis has typically been awarded . Only expenses that you have paid out-of-pocket, and that were incurred prior to WTC Health Program certification of the applicable condition, will be reimbursed. The VCF will also consider when and how a claimant left the workforce, particularly if the claimant stopped working before the disability onset date identified in the disability determination. - An FDNY Lieutenant who became disabled from working by severe WTC related pulmonary conditions at age 52. Other expenses that are not eligible for reimbursement include insurance premiums, expenses related to replacement services, investigational and holistic treatment, home health care or in-home aides, nursing home/live-in rehabilitation facilities, wigs, household items such as vacuum cleaners, air filters, and water filters, or home modifications.