A class action lawsuit filed on behalf of Ground Zero workers alleges the leaseholder of the World Trade Center, owners, controllers and the companies hired to oversee the clean up did very little to protect workers from asbestos and other toxins in the air.
The New York law firm, Worby, Groner, Edelman, & Napoli, Bern, filed the lawsuit in a U.S. Federal Court on Friday, the day before a three-year statute of limitations for lawsuits relating to the terror attacks expired.
The lawsuit names as defendants World Trade Center leaseholder Silverstein Properties and the four construction companies hired to supervise the removal of the 1.5 million tons of debris: Turner Construction, AMEC, Bovis Lend Lease and Tully Construction.
David E. Worby, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said: “The unprecedented combination of lethal toxins present at the World Trade Center site during search and rescue, demolition and cleanup efforts in the months following September 11, 2001 affected not only the cleanup workers but potentially hundreds of thousands of people living and working in the area with ‘WTC Toxic Diseases’.”
The lawsuit is seeking 1-billion in compensation for victims and to establish funding for a decades-long protocol of medical testing for all those exposed to these poisons, so that the variety of diseases they may contract over the next 20 years or more can be diagnosed and potentially treated as quickly as possible to minimize their effects.
“The tragic reality is that so many of the brave heroes who worked so tirelessly and unselfishly are becoming a second wave of casualties of this horrific attack, and we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg three years later in terms of the number of victims as well as the variety and severity of their illnesses,” said Worby.
The firm, in addition to the class action, is initiating thousands of individual lawsuits, notices of claims and other filings against a variety of governmental entities and agencies including New York City, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on behalf of their individual clients.
William R. Sawyer, a leading national expert on WTC site toxicity who conducted toxicological assessments on WTC workers, said: “The initial collapse of the buildings and smoldering fires released a dust and vapor cloud that hovered over the immediate and surrounding areas.”
Sawyer added: “Building materials continued to smolder, releasing a toxic mixture of chemicals measured by EPA subcontractors in the air at levels in great excess of those considered hazardous to human health.” These toxins included particulate matter composed of cement dust, glass fibers, asbestos, lead, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides, and polychlorinated furans and dioxins, which were released into the air for weeks and months following September 11, 2001.
“I have conducted direct testing of the paper dust masks and clothing worn by these workers during their first few weeks of exposure,” said Sawyer. “Certified analyses of the particulate matter removed from this gear revealed high levels of several different carcinogens which were far beyond the EPA-recommended levels. The variety and seriousness of the likely resultant illnesses are as unique and unprecedented as the combination of deadly poisons to which these workers were exposed.”
John R. Walcott, a former New York City Police Detective who now suffers from benzene-induced leukemia is one of the plaintiffs. He was among several plaintiffs present representing employees of the New York City Fire, Police, Transit and Sanitation Departments, Con Edison, Verizon, construction and ironworkers and a number of private contractors who are currently suffering some form of illness as a result of their onsite exposure. Walcott was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) on May 20th, 2003. Not having a suitable transplant donor, Mr. Walcott was approved for stem cell transplant post cycle four chemotherapy.
The firm is currently representing him in a separate, individual suit, the first such action it filed.
Walcott, 39, was a detective when assigned duty at the WTC site on September 11, 2001. He said that he and other workers were provided with simple paper masks, and that he wore the mask for only a short period of time as it “just became too clogged to breathe in or out”. He added that he did not receive another mask on 9/11 despite breathing difficulty, constant cough and gagging, and that there was no post-duty decontamination available that day or throughout the duration of the cleanup. Walcott was assigned to various clean-up tasks over the next several months, including to the pile and sifter at the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island.
(via PR Newswire)
{ 11 comments }
Who would I need to contact to add my name to the Class Action Lawsuit? I feel that I should be on there as well since I spent nearly 9 months at ground zero.
who do I need to contact in order to become a part of the WTC class action
lawsuit. Pls supply me with a valid
telephone.’
thank you
Who would I need to contact to add my name to the Class Action Lawsuit? I was never notified and I feel I should be on there since I was there from 9-11 to the end of 2001.
I”m a retired NYC detective,I was at the wtc from the time the second plane hit and worked at least 4 days a week there from sept 11 2001 to june 1 2002. The first 3 months I worked there everyday for 12 hrs aday with the first 4-5 days over 16 hours aday.At the present time Im seeking help for depression and an Injured Right shoulder that i hurt the first day.Please advice me where to go for lawsuits thankyou Robert Brady
i was an eye wintness too these acts of terrer i allso staid and did what i could for 7 months my heaith has not been too good since.
mentally shot. how can i get on the list. thanks
as a worker at the freashkill land full during cleanup and suffer from allthe health problems as most of you…….judge maas refuse to hear any of the 911 lawsuits. i beleive we should get together and go down and protest at FRANK MAAS OFFICE OR CITY HALL…….I MAYBE HE IS LOOKING FOR POLICAL FAVORS.
Is the total claim $1bn or $1.4bn now on the clean up contractors?
I would appreciate information on how to be added to the lawsuit. I am disabled and retired due to wtc 911 attacks. I was there on 911 on a police motorcycle and worked everyday at ground zero (recovery supervisor) until April 2002 when I went on sick leave for stress and PTSD. Please forward any info to me. Thanks
Is it too late to add my name to the WTC Lawsuit?? I worked in and around the area for at least 12 months following the attacks.
I worked for the NYC Housing Authority and was called to the WTC immediately following the attacks to build platforms for the firefighters. When our work was done I then volunteered for the Red Cross at the WTC site. How can I get my name on your list? I am currently retired (disabled) for the NYC Housing Authority. Thank you.
I would like information on getting on the class action Lawsuit list. I worked with Lucent technologies during the recovery for over 8 months at ground zero; 140 West street Verizon building. I was a first responder emediately after the attacks. Please inform me if possible. Thank you.
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