If there is an indication that you are receiving, or are entitled to receive, a disability or survivor pension (or if the decedent received a disability pension before death), but you do not submit information necessary to calculate that pension or determine the basis of that pension, the VCF will not issue a full award and may issue only a non-economic loss award or deactivate the claim because, without that information, the VCF cannot determine whether an offset is appropriate and the amount of that offset. These claimants might require lung transplants (sometimes double lung transplants), or significant mechanical respiratory assistance on a daily basis. Records of state and federal agency proceedings or private insurance records that address your medical condition. After extensive fact finding, public outreach, and review of public comments in the original VCF, the Special Master and the Department of Justice concluded that the most rational and just way to approach the difficult task of placing a dollar amount on the pain and emotional suffering experienced by the thousands of individuals killed or injured by the September 11th attacks was to assess the non-economic losses for categories of victims. However, the VCF limits the amount a 9/11 attorney may charge a claimant to 10% of the claimant's VCF award. 10. 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. 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. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contrary, the state insurance fund, if compensation and/or medical benefits be payable therefrom, or otherwise the person, association, corporation, insurance carrier or statutory fund liable for the payment of such compensation and/or medical benefits: (a) shall not have a lien on the proceeds of any award from the September eleventh victim compensation fund of two thousand one established pursuant to title IV of the federal air transportation safety and system stabilization act, public law 107-42, as amended; and (b) shall not terminate or reduce such compensation and/or medical benefits based upon the submission of a claim for an award from such federal fund, and/or the waiver or compromise of any cause of action resulting from such submission.. The Special Master is required under the VCF Actto offset Social Security survivor and dependent benefits as compensation paid to the surviving spouse or dependents of a disabled or deceased wage earner because of the eligible injury. For these claims, it may be necessary to provide additional documentation that explains the relationship between your loss of earnings and benefits and your eligible condition(s). 4. As required by the VCF Act, your final award will be calculated using this basic formula: Non-Economic Loss plus Economic Loss, minus Collateral Offsets. Suffering from constant nasal inflammation, stuffy nose, pain and swelling around your nose and in your sinuses, and reduced taste or smell are common indicators. 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. By law, the VCF can only compensate for losses caused by eligible conditions related to the events of September 11, 2001. For example, you could submit letters or reports from specialists who treated your eligible conditions. Table 4 below shows calculated consumption rates by income bracket and for various household sizes. You have a new physical injury or condition that you had not suffered at the time of the VCF1 claim filing or that was not compensable at the time of VCF1; c. You have not already been fully compensated for your losses. The VCF also refers to non-economic loss as a "pain and suffering" award. The Special Master will therefore recognize all same-sex marriages valid in the place where the marriage was celebrated notwithstanding that a victims Federal tax return filed before June 26, 2013, could not identify a same-sex spouse. Non-economic loss is sometimes called a pain and suffering award. For those who have been granted a WTC disability or reclassification, the pension value is 75% of the higher value, with the exception noted above. The methodology computes the loss in each year (including pensions) and caps the loss at $200,000 in each year. The VCF is committed to transparency about the claim review process. The amendment may be filed at any time following receipt of your initial award determination, but no later than October 1, 2090. The VCF will treat all conditions in the category of Obstructive Airways Diseases (OAD) as equivalent. 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). 1. Check the following table to see the payout amounts per claimant category in that fiscal year: What Is the Average Compensation for 9/11 Victims? Presumptive defined benefit pension values assume a five-year vesting requirement, normal retirement age of 65, and a benefit factor of 1% of average salary for the final five years of employment. As a result, the VCF has established specific criteria about when and how you should submit your claim for medical expenses. Chronic rhinosinusitis, or sinusitis, is a prevalent respiratory condition linked to inhalation of the highly toxic dust on 9/11. Do not contact NYCERS if we ask you for updated LOAs as the one-year rule applies to all requests for documents and this will burden their limited resources and delay the process. In the early years of the WTC Victim Fund, claims for personal injury were awarded amounts that ranged from $500 to $8.6 million. As special master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, or VCF, she faced a dilemma . The Special Master has determined that individual age-specific growth rates, rather than growth independent of a particular age bracket at death, better reflects the expected pattern of earnings over ones career[3] and results in more equitable and consistent projections for victims close to each other in age with otherwise similar family and employment characteristics. You are not required to amend your claim if you decide you no longer want to seek reimbursement for medical expenses. If the paid medical expenses you incurred meet the VCF criteria, and you want to seek reimbursement of the expenses, you must submit an amendment to reactivate your request. 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. 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. For example, if you received a promotion before becoming disabled and if the earnings history did not reflect that promotion, then you must provide proof of the promotion and any earnings adjustment resulting from the promotion. [2] Effective income tax rates derived from IRS data for New York are shown in Table 1 below. [6] Other standard expenditure categories sometimes included in litigation, namely Reading, Cash Contributions, Alcoholic Beverages, and Tobacco Products, were excluded. 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. The Special Master has the discretion to adjust the amount of offsets to exclude premiums or assets that were accumulated by the victim through self-contributions paid into a life insurance program to build up a tax-deferred cash value. In a defined benefit pension plan, the employer or other sponsor promises to pay specific retirement benefits based on the employee's or members earnings history, length of service, and age. Rupa Bhattacharyya '95 can pinpoint the hardest decision she had to make in her 25 years as a government attorney. While unpaid volunteers are normally ineligible for Workers' Compensation benefits, the New York Workers' Compensation Law was amended to provide a unique exception for certain volunteers who assisted with World Trade Center rescue, recovery, and clean-up efforts. Growth rates: The VCF projects compensable income and benefits through the victims expected work-life using growth rates that incorporate an annual inflationary or cost-of-living component, an annual real overall productivity or scale adjustment in excess of inflation, and an annual real life-cycle or age-specific increase derived using data on average full-time year-round earnings by age bracket from the 2010 Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey of households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Before you can receive a VCF award, we will register you with the World Trade Center Health Program to obtain a medical record known as certification of causation. The VCF will treat all conditions in the category of Interstitial Lung Diseases (ILD) as equivalent. If services are no longer relevant, they will not be compensated (for example, child care services will not be compensated after the child reaches age 18). The VCF will consider the WTC Health Program Disability Evaluation report in combination with the facts and circumstances of the claim to determine if a lost earnings award is appropriate. If the service or medication is provided to you by the WTC Health Program, it is not eligible for reimbursement from the VCF and you should not include it with your claim. For example, documents that show hospitalization, surgery, emergency treatment, and/or treatment for side effects of the condition. Follow the instructions on "How to File an Amendment" to amend your claim. A personal statement discussing the impact of the eligible conditions on your life. For example, if the victim left the workforce more than one year before death without a permanent partial or total occupational disability determination based on an eligible 9/11-related physical health condition, the VCF will consider the reasons the victim originally left the workforce and the likelihood that the victim would have returned to the workforce were it not for the victims eligible condition in determining whether the victim actually lost compensation as a result of an eligible condition. If you submitted a claim for economic losses, but the VCF issues an award for non-economic loss only because of missing documents, the VCF will reconsider the economic loss award only on amendment. If you do not appeal, we authorize payment within 20 days of the end of the 30-day appeal period. Here are popular VCF payout questions answered: Moreover, computation of the after-tax discount rate using a relatively high combined New York income tax rate, compared to other states, results in a lower after-tax discount rate. The VCF does not reimburse recipients for attorney's fees, which are to be paid by the claimant. This allows the VCF to obtain information from the Social Security Administration to determine earnings history. This chart may change over time. payments under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 . If you believe that your eligible condition has caused a loss of earnings that is distinct from any loss of earnings due to an ineligible condition, you must provide evidence to the VCF to substantiate your claim. Federal employees in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) who are claiming loss of future earnings/benefits must submit the following: Individuals who receive a disability pension from FERS should also submit: Personal Representatives filing a wrongful death claim must submit a letter from OPM confirming the following: For union members and employees of Con Edison or Verizon, the VCF models typically include: (1)a defined benefit pension equal to 15% of base salary, and (2)an annuity equal to 7% of base salary if your union offers an annuity fund. The VCF will compensate for documented out-of-pocket burial or memorial expenses for victims who died as a result of an eligible 9/11-related physical injury. Before these legal alterations were made in the program, it was the VCFs policy to offset only those WTC Volunteer Fund payments that a claimant had received as of the date his/her claim was filed because any future payments were considered to be uncertain and contingent on an additional infusion of funds and on the identification of a continuing funding mechanism. Each of these types of loss is explained in the sections below. There are some cases, however, where a victim continued to earn income at the same level after s/he was determined to be disabled by a governmental entity. See Section 2.3 for a detailed explanation of the methodology used to calculate future lost earnings. Note that in general, the VCF will need medical records substantiating claims of medical procedures (surgery, etc.). The 2019 reauthorization legislation provides all necessary appropriations for VCF awards and administrative expenses through the end of FY2092. Sections 2.2.f-i contain information specific to victims who worked for New York City (including FDNY and NYPD) and the Federal government (including military and military reserve); and. 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. Barasch & McGarry is the leading law firm helping . A New York firefighter amid the rubble of the World Trade Center after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The VCF will then compute the amount of past and/or future lost wages in light of these factors (as explained below). Note that this information should be in a letter that was sent to the victim at retirement or in a Federal Retirement Benefits printout: Date that victim entered the FERS system (date used to calculate Creditable Service for Retirement), Total years and months of credited service, Letter from Office of Personnel Management (OPM) confirming that the victims disability retirement has been approved and stating the conditions forming the basis of the disability, Amount of Monthly Disability Pension in first 12 months (already reduced by Social Security benefits), Amount of Disability Pension after 12 months (already reduced by Social Security benefits), Estimate of re-calculated Disability Pension at age 62, Type of survivor benefit (e.g., Basic Employee Death Benefit, Survivor Annuity). The VCF will consider the SSA diagnoses of Chronic Pulmonary Insufficiency (code 4960), Chronic Respiratory Disorders (code 4960), or Other Disorders of the Respiratory System (code 5190) equivalent to the Obstructive Airways Diseases listed in this paragraph. The VCF does not premise their award amounts solely on financial losses. A member of the Kreindler 9/11 VCF team can discuss all of these factors with you. 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. 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. service, disability), if applicable, Date of retirement from the military, if applicable, Most recent pay statement showing various allowances, benefits, and special pay, If receiving military retired pay: start date and benefit amount. . Recommendation of the FDNY Pension Fund re: Accident Disability: This is a recommendation of the 1-B Medical Board on FDNY letterhead regarding whether the individual should be awarded an accident disability retirement. What are the VCF payouts and how likely you will get one? In the event these funds are also exhausted, the NY Workers Compensation Law now provides that WTC volunteers may receive benefits directly from the Uninsured Employers Fund, which is funded by fines paid by employers who do not comply with insurance coverage requirements. You must be certain any documentation you provide meets the requirements outlined in Documentation Required to Support a Medical Expenses Claim below. Please do not submit another copy of the Exhibit 1 for the victim. See the Collateral Source Offsets section for more information. For single individuals without dependents, Housing, Education and Health are also included. The average death claim was compensated at $2,082,128. Although CPS and other data used to study lifetime earnings profiles indicate that peak real earnings typically decline at some point, in calculating life-cycle earnings growth in excess of inflation and overall productivity adjustments for victims, the Special Master has assumed that peak earnings are maintained. The VCF will evaluate these types of payments on a case-by-case basis. In addition, the law requires the Special Master, in each case, to take account of the harm to the claimant, the facts of the claims, and the individual circumstances of the claimant. The VCF will not compensate for any travel expenses you incurred while seeking medical treatment, including the cost of gas, public transportation, hotels, and meals, except in extraordinary circumstances. Congress amended the Public Safety Officers Benefits Act (42 U.S.C. 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). 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. You must submit any claim for burial or memorial service costs with the initial claim submission. This is the bar by which the Special Master will measure the appropriateness of an increase above the cap, and it will be done in consideration of all other circumstances of the claim and the totality of the award. After-tax income: Determine after-tax compensable income by applying the average effective combined federal, state, and local income tax rate for the victims income bracket currently applicable in the state of the victims domicile for tax purposes. Income will be determined based on the documents submitted with the claim and on data obtained from SSA earnings reports. The VCF does not receive medical documentation directly from FDNY. If, on the other hand, younotify the VCF of the pending disability application and the VCF defers processing your claim, your claim will be reviewed in a priority order based on the original date of submission of your compensation form once the completed disability application is submitted in a subsequent amendment. For example, an employer might provide a statement showing your compensation history and time periods where you missed work and were not compensated. The types of documents listed below can assist the VCF in the evaluation of your claim: A document from your physician summarizing the medical history of your condition and treatment will often be sufficient to prove the extent of your non-economic loss. Information aboutcompensation you received from collateral sources that must be subtracted from your lost earnings award. - An FDNY Lieutenant who became disabled from working by severe WTC related pulmonary conditions at age 52. Likewise, if the victim was 65 years old or older at the time of death, the VCF generally will not award lost earnings and benefits, based on the presumption that the victim had already reached the end of his or her reasonable work-life expectancy. Rare Cancers. Accordingly, non-economic loss is based generally on the severity of the condition and the effect of the condition on the victims ability to maintain normal activities of daily living. 800-887-7299 ENEnglish ESSpanish Our Team Meet Dan Hansen Meet Troy Rosasco Our Team Why Choose Us 9/11 Victim Programs Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) WTC Health Program (WTCHP) Wrongful Death VCF Claims VCF Eligibility & Coverage Appeals & Amendments VCF Proof of Presence Claims Procedures Deadlines Pain & Suffering Damages If you have a defined benefit pension that was or will be reduced because you retired early due to an eligible condition, the VCF may compensate you for that loss. Each person who was killed or injured in the September 11th attacks suffered grievous harm, and each person experienced the unspeakable events of that day in a unique way. Under the VCF Act, the VCF does not compensate for potential or anticipated future medical expenses. How Much Am I Eligible For? 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. The lowest compensation amount was $87.02. Please be aware that any documents you submit after we have finalized the substantive review of your compensation claim will not be reviewed as that review would delay the issuance of your award determination. If you are filing a personal injury claim, in order to qualify for an economic loss award for loss of future earnings/benefits, you must first show that you have a permanent partial or total occupational disability based on an eligible 9/11-related physical condition. If you are claiming reimbursement for expenses relating to conditions that are not certified, we will consider reimbursement for expenses you incurred at any time before you filed your medical expenses claim, subject to the specific circumstances of your individual claim. The maximum noneconomic award for any one type of noncancerous condition is $90,000. Such payments will be assumed to continue and will be offset unless evidence is submitted that the benefits or payments in fact terminated. You do not need to resubmit documents you have already submitted in support of your amendment, but you must be certain the documentation you provided meets the requirements outlined in Documentation Required to Support a Medical Expenses Claim below. . Compensable expenses include costs you have paid out-of-pocket for prescription medication, prescribed medical equipment, doctor visits, diagnostic tests, surgeries, or other medical procedures relating to your eligible condition(s). It may facilitate the processing of your claim, however, if you submit to the VCF any determination you have received from the PSOB program, or documentation of a payment from the PSOB program, when you submit your claim. CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) and the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010. The VCF cannot award lost earnings for a disability that is not clearly related to an eligible condition. This includes determining the types of loss being claimed. 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. For example, a victim who has a respiratory condition that significantly restricts the victims ability to participate in activities of daily living and recreation, or that is progressive and not effectively treated, may have a higher non-economic award than a victim who has a mild respiratory condition and another mild condition which have not had a significant effect on their activities of daily living. If you are submitting a claim for loss of future earnings/benefits from a union, or from Con Edison or Verizon, you must submit: If your employer is not listed above but offers a defined benefit pension, you must submit evidence that your employer offers a defined benefit pension and how that pension was calculated, such as a pension calculation statement, retirement statement, or a pension option letter. How Does the VCF Calculate Awards for Multiple Certified Conditions? This includes last 5 years total earnings prior to retirement, including salary, holiday pay, night shift differential pay, and overtime. Another award is made to a successful applicant for an economic loss, which includes lost benefits, lost earnings, household services, and out of pocket medical expenses. If you are filing on behalf of a deceased victim and you have provided sufficient evidence that the cause of death was related to aneligible condition, the VCF will generally calculate lost earnings and benefits resulting from the victims death if it is clear from the information in the claim file that the victims death resulted in a compensable loss. By doing this analysis before submitting your claim, the VCF will be able to more quickly process your claim because we do not need to take the time to calculate the economic loss in order to determine that only non-economic loss can be awarded. Thus, if you are disabled due to an Interstitial Lung Disease and you have been deemed eligible by the VCF only for Obstructive Airways Diseases, the disability determination is not a basis for awarding lost earnings. To determine the amount, the VCF will consider how the injury affects your daily life, what kind of condition you have, and the severity. For example, the victim may suffer from multiple types of cancer or may have a severe non-cancer eligible condition along with an eligible cancer. 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. [6] For lower income categories where total expenditures exceed income, expenditures were scaled to income, so as not to reduce income for expenses potentially met by other forms of support. If you have insurance, the VCF will not compensate for any expenses that have not yet been evaluated by your insurance company or any applicable secondary payer. Evidence that you are or were unable to work as a result of an eligible condition. Compensable expenses do not include any costs for which you have been, or will be, reimbursed by your insurance company, a secondary payer (like Medicaid, Medicare, or a second insurance provider), or any other collateral source. The lower the after-tax discount rate, the higher the present value of presumed economic loss. (2) A document that demonstrates the amount of the expense that you have paid out- of-pocket, as explained below. The maximum award for " wrongful death " non-economic losses is $250,000, plus an additional $100,000 on account of the spouse and each dependent of the decedent. To that end, the sections below provide detailed information about how we generally evaluate and calculate compensation for non-economic and economic loss. 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. The VCF Act defines non-economic loss as losses for physical and emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium (other than loss of domestic service), hedonic damages, injury to reputation, and all other non-pecuniary losses of any kind or nature. If you are not receiving a pension, submit a letter from your union/Con Edison/Verizon stating that you are not receiving a pension. His VCF award was $1,012,392 reduced by offsets for a pension and prior lawsuit of $404,833, for a total award of $607,558. 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 was paying 10% of the settlement amounts immediately, with 90% due on its planned . Exceptions may be considered if the victim (or his or her authorized representative) submits evidence to support the assumption of additional years of workforce participation after age 65, such as the victims need to support minor children.
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