The VCF is available to not only first responders, but also to those who worked or volunteered in construction, clean-up, and debris removal, as well as people who lived, worked or went to school in the above-described exposure zones. Examples of contemporaneous documents that may be helpful in proving presence are listed below. You cannot certify records or transcripts yourself. As a result, the VCF is not able to accept claims solely for psychological conditions. All of the eligibility criteria must be met to receive compensation. Chronic Respiratory Disorder Fumes/Vapors, Reactive Airways Dysfunction Syndrome (RADS), WTC-exacerbated Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), New Onset Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disorder (GERD), Sleep Apnea exacerbated by, associated with, or related to, the above conditions, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) occurring in responders, Certain Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSK) occurring in responders and defined as a chronic or recurrent disorder of the musculoskeletal system caused by heavy lifting or repetitive strain on the joints or musculoskeletal system occurring during the period beginning onSeptember 11, 2001, throughMay 30, 2002, or as determined by the Special Master (Note: the VCF may compensate MSK in survivors if appropriate proof is provided), Acute Traumatic Injuries the WTC Health Program defines acute traumatic injury as an injury caused by and occurring immediately after a one-time exposure to energy such as heat, electricity or impact from a crash or fall, resulting from a specific event or incident for which the claimant received medical treatment on or before September 11, 2003, Malignant neoplasm of other and unspecified parts of tongue, Malignant neoplasm of other and unspecified major salivary glands, Malignant neoplasm of other and unspecified parts of mouth, Malignant neoplasm of other and ill-defined conditions in the lip, oral cavity and pharynx, Malignant neoplasm of peripheral nerves and autonomic nervous system, Malignant neoplasm of other connective and soft tissue, Malignant neoplasm of rectosigmoid junction, Malignant neoplasm of other and ill-defined digestive organs, Malignant neoplasm of the liver and intrahepatic bile ducts, Malignant neoplasms of retroperitoneum and peritoneum, Malignant neoplasm of heart, mediastinum and pleura, Malignant neoplasm of other and ill-defined sites in the respiratory system and intrathoracic organs, Malignant neoplasm of the gallbladder/biliary tract, Malignant neoplasm of the small intestine, Malignant neoplasm of the central nervous system, Uterine cancer, including endometrial cancer, Malignant neoplasm of the kidney except renal pelvis, Malignant neoplasm of other and unspecified urinary organs, Follicular (nodular) non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Peripheral and cutaneous T-cell lymphomas, Other and unspecified types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Multiple myeloma and malignant plasma cell neoplasms, Other and unspecified malignant neoplasms of lymphoid, hematopoietic and related tissue. You should provide this form to individuals who witnessed you at the site or in the NYC Exposure Zone during the relevant time period. For deceased individuals, the Personal Representative will waive his/her rights to file any future action seeking compensation for the decedent's death. If eligibility is denied, the letter will explain how to appeal the decision or how to amend your claim in the future when you are able to provide the additional information for consideration. You should file your claim only after you have been certified by the WTC Health Program for a 9/11-related physical health condition. The VCF has an arrangement with the FDNY in which the FDNY will provide documents directly to the VCF regarding proof of a FDNY firefighters or fire officers presence at the site. Prostate Cancer 9/11 VCF Payouts and Settlements The average pain and suffering VCF payout for prostate cancer claims ranges from $200,000-to-$250,000. Alumni of Stuyvesant or any area school in the NYC Exposure Zone may email info@stuyhealth.org for assistance acquiring proof of attendance for their VCF claim. The VCF might also increase an award if your certified condition worsens. If the VCF needs additional information from you after reviewing your claim form and the letter, the VCF will contact you. You will receive a letter from the VCF explaining the eligibility decision on your claim. If we do not have an agreement with your employer or organization, you should provide your employer/organization with the VCF Third Party Verification Form, and instruct them to send the completed form directly to the VCF. Please note that the VCF does not receive copies of your medical records as part of our information-sharing agreement with the WTC Health Program. To be eligible for an award from the VCF, you must meet the following criteria: There are two deadlines in the VCFs claim filing process:aClaim Filing Deadlineand aRegistration Deadline. If you have an eligible 9/11-related physical condition, it does not mean that you are guaranteed to be compensated by the VCF. The WTC Health Program website includes a map of the NIOSH-defined New York City Disaster Area, along with detailed information about the number of hours, dates, and levels of exposure that are required for purposes of certifying a condition for treatment. The VCF recognizes various medications for the treatment of conditions related to prostate cancer as presumptively compensable this means that it's not necessary to provide further documentation of necessity to the VCF. The Private Physician process is available only in the following limited circumstances: If the VCF determines that you are an appropriate candidate for the Private Physician process, the VCF will contact you and ask you to provide certain medical records and other information from a non-WTC Health Program physician. You do not need to be sick or to have been diagnosed or certified with a 9/11-related condition in order to register. However, if you were at an eligible location between September 11, 2001, and May 30, 2002, you should consider gathering your proof of presence documents now, even if you are not sick and do not intend to file a claim at this time. The WTC Health Program provides options for treatment of psychological conditions, including post-traumatic stress. The rapid spread of advanced prostate . If you were a DC-37 union member, your union may be able to provide information and/or documentation to support presence for purposes of your VCF claim. If you are enrolled and if the WTC Health Program confirms that it has certified your condition for treatment, then it will be able to provide the VCF with information about your certified condition(s). If you were a Red Cross volunteer in the NYC Exposure Zone during the period beginning September 11, 2001, through May 30, 2002, the Red Cross may be able to provide documents and/or information directly to the VCF regarding your presence at the site. If you were employed by the FBI and worked at a 9/11 crash site or in the VCFs NYC Exposure Zone during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, through May 30, 2002, the FBI can provide you with a letter verifying your presence at the site. If the VCF determines that a Witness Presence Statement lacks the required level of detail, your claim may be denied on that basis. In many cases, the VCF can obtain additional information from third parties. The VCF will notify you if additional information is needed. Among reported VCF awards: $3.7 million for an NYPD officer disabled due to leukemia; $2.8 million for a sanitation worker with skin cancer; 2.1 million for a stock broker with multiple. Once the VCF receives your Claim Form and the completed Exhibit A Authorization for Release of Medical Records- the VCF will request information directly from the WTC Health Program to determine whether you have an eligible condition. If you were an employee of the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), and worked in the NYC Exposure Zone, please provide your NYCTA employee identification number to the VCF. You should contact the employee verifications team by email at GS-HCM-Help-Americas@ny.email.gs.com and request an employment verification letter. You should also notify us once you have requested the letter from the Department of Buildings, so we know to expect it in support of your claim. For a listing of the types of documents that can assist the VCF in the evaluation of your claim, see Section 2.1.c Documentation of non-economic loss. In the body of the email, please include your first name, last name, last four digits of your social security number or your standard work or enterprise ID number, and the VCF official email address, VCF.Thirdpartyverification@usdoj.gov, which is where human resources can directly send their response. The VCF will accept claims with settled 9/11-related lawsuits if you meet the following conditions: You may have settled all your claims and, in that case, as long as the lawsuit was commenced after December 22, 2003, and the release was tendered by January 2, 2011, you can submit a claim to the VCF. A denial means the documentation you submitted in support of your presence was not sufficient to meet the VCFs needs. To register with the VCF you must do one of the following: In general, claimants are considered to have registered on time if their registration is submitted within two years of the date on which the claimant knew or reasonably should have known: (1) that the victim suffered a physical harm as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, or debris removal in the immediate aftermath, and (2) that the claimant was eligible to file a claim with the VCF. Thus, as a general matter, the VCF will rely on certification by the WTC Health Program that the individual is eligible for treatment for a particular physical injury or condition under the WTC Health Program. When you submit your complete claim form and we begin reviewing your claim, we will review each presence document. Confirmation from the WTC Health Program that you have at least one physical condition certified for treatment. 107-71, to provide compensation for any individual (or a personal representative of a deceased individual) who suffered physical harm or was killed as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, or the debris removal efforts that took place in the immediate aftermath of those crashes. In all other cases, we will not process your claim until we receive notification from the WTC Health Program that you have been certified for at least one physical condition. The VCF has instructions for uploading documents to the online system. The VCF will consider a number of factors to determine the appropriate award including whether the cancer has spread, will recur, or cause permanent complications. Individuals who received respirator training and were certified or approved to use those devices at Ground Zero on or before October 3, 2001. Please note that the NYPD will not be able to provide the VCF direct access to the below listed documents. The VCFs New York City Exposure Zone is used to determine an individuals presence for VCF eligibility purposes (and is not dependent on the length of time the individual was at the site), while the WTC Health Programs New York City Disaster Area is used to determine certification for treatment and requires a minimum amount of time spent in the designated area. NOTE: The parent should not be listed on the claim form as an Authorized Representative as this designation is only applicable to Personal Representatives of deceased individuals, and court-appointed guardians of incapacitated adults. If you do not have any of these documents, you may still submit your claim form because the VCF may be able to obtain them from third parties. The VCF works directly with ConEd to obtain information for ConEd employees who assert that they participated in the World Trade Center response while working for ConEd. The documents listed in the sections below are examples of the most common types of documents used to demonstrate presence at an eligible location. Please note that you can seek certification for treatment from the WTC Health Program for purposes of your VCF claim and still be treated for your certified condition by a physician outside of the WTC Health Program. All documents submitted for a claim are subject to verification and authentication procedures undertaken independently by the VCF. The VCF Permanent Authorization Act extends the VCFs claim filing deadline from December 18, 2020, to October 1, 2090, and appropriates such funds as may be necessary to pay all approved claims. The forms and instructions, as well as more detailed information on the process are available on our Private Physician resources page. If the VCF needs additional information from you after requesting documentation from ConEd, the VCF will contact you. If you are unable to obtain these types of documents, the Special Master will consider sworn Witness Presence Statements from people who can attest to your presence at a 9/11 crash site or in the NYC Exposure Zone. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS SeeSection 1.9for additional information. Claimants must first give their permission to release these responses to the VCF. 111-347. The VCF encourages everyone who was at an eligible location to gather documents now even if they are unsure about filing a claim in the future. In cases meeting these criteria, where withdrawal or dismissal occurred after January 2, 2012, only newly covered conditions will be considered eligible for compensation. At least two documents, whether from the list below or otherwise, are required. The VCFAct states that if an individual tendered a release after the VCFAct was enacted on January 2, 2011, the individual is not eligible for the VCF. If the VCF needs additional information from you after reviewing your claim form and documentation, the VCF will contact you. The VCF may be able to obtain records confirming presence from the New York State Workers Compensation Board for individuals who have made a Workers Compensation claim based on their 9/11-related work. We will send you a Missing Information letter if the documents you submitted do not have the detailed information we need in order to prove you were there. You must first attempt to obtain an appointment from the state probate or surrogate court where the victim lived. If you were employed by the NYC Department of Buildings and worked at an office located in the NYC Exposure Zone during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, through May 30, 2002, they may be able to provide you with a letter verifying your presence. This is true regardless of the date on which the earlier condition is certified or verified. If we need something further in order to determine your eligibility, you will receive a missing information letter. For information about the NPN call 1-888-982-4748. If the WTC Health Program has certified your condition, you do not need to submit medical records to support a claim for non-economic loss at the lowest end of the range for your eligible condition. Below is a sample of some of our recent awards for our clients: $4.4 million. See Section 1.11 for more information about VCF1 claims. If your office or work or volunteer location was located in the NYC Exposure Zone, or you were present at a 9/11 site because your job required you to be there, you should review the list in Section 1.9 to see if the VCF has a relationship with your employer or organization to get presence information directly from them on your behalf. If you have at least one certified or verified 9/11-related physical injury or condition and meet all of the eligibility criteria to receive compensation, you may also be eligible for payment for other physical injuries or conditions that are not included on the list of presumptively covered conditions (and that are therefore not certified or verified) and that resulted from your 9/11 exposure if you have presented extraordinary circumstances. The VCF Act establishes certain caps on non-economic awards for physical injury claims. Once you have qualified and received a completed proof of presence letter, you can upload it to your online claim or mail it to the VCF. Please note that this option is generally available only when legal or geographical obstacles mean that the representative is unable to open an estate to obtain an appointment. TheVCF Act provides that you may either seek compensation from the VCF or you may file a lawsuit, but you cannot do both except under certain circumstances as explained below. are documents that were created in the ordinary course of business or in real-time during the September 11, 2001, through May 30, 2002, period (or as otherwise noted below). For all other individuals, the VCF generally needs proof documenting the amount of your settlement, the dates of commencement and release of all claims in the lawsuit, and the order dismissing any claims not part of the settlement. Call the VCF Helpline at 1-855-885-1555 to register by phone. The Reauthorized Zadroga Act extended VCF II for an additional five years, allowing individuals to submit claims until December 18, 2020, and appropriated an additional $4.6 billion to pay claims. The VCF Permanent Authorization Actfully funded the VCF and extended the VCFs Claim Filing Deadline until October 1, 2090. You should therefore also submit other evidence (such as contemporaneous documents or Witness Presence Statements) demonstrating that you were physically present at a 9/11 crash site or in the NYC Exposure Zone. These are the conditions that the VCF will consider when calculating the amount of your award. As a result, FDNY firefighters and fire officers do not need to submit any documents as proof of presence at the site unless the VCF specifically requests such documents. Payouts can also be higher if the claimant loses significant time from work. By doing so at an appeal hearing, the VCF can ask clarifying questions to help evaluate the claim. The WTC Health Program includes a Nationwide Provider Network (NPN) to serve members who live outside the New York City metropolitan area. Note for Local 1101 CWA Verizon employees, including Empire City Subway: we have an arrangement with CWA Local 1101 to get information directly from them for members who participated in the World Trade Center response. It is very important that you ask the Service Center to email the letter to the VCF official email address: VCF.Thirdpartyverification@usdoj.gov. One out of every nine men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime. Show that you have a 9/11-related physical injury or condition that is certified for treatment by the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program or, in limited circumstances, that you have a physical injury or condition that was treated by your private physician and verified as 9/11-related through the VCFs, Show that you were present at one of the attack sites, within the. The VCF has detailed information on VCF policies and procedures. Once you have registered with the VCF and have a VCF claim number, you may upload or mail documents to the VCF in order to store presence documentation, even if you have no immediate plans to submit a claim. Dismiss, withdraw, and/or settle any 9/11-related lawsuits by the appropriate deadline. Responder dispatch records or union shop steward records showing dates and location(s) of your work. You may register at any time, so long as you do so before your individual deadline as outlined above. Collateral sources are defined by the statute to mean all sources, including life insurance, pension funds, death benefit programs, settlement payments from September 11th-related lawsuits, and payments by federal, state, or local governments related to the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, or debris removal. Once the required documents are received and verified as sufficient, the claim will be reactivated for review, and if applicable, the VCF will request information from certain government entities, employers, and other third parties that may support presence for VCF purposes. If you do not have access to email, you may call human resources at 212-393-2222 and request a WTC verification letter to be sent directly to the VCF. Once we confirm we have a complete Signature Page and Exhibit A, we contact the WTC Health Program for information about your certified condition(s). In addition, if you were found eligible to receive compensation in VCF1, in most cases, you do not need to submit proof of presence in support of your claim. Undefined malignant neoplasms also qualify. The VCF will notify you if you need to submit any additional documents. As a general rule, you cannot have an active 9/11-related lawsuit at the time you submit your VCF claim or amend your claim to add a new eligible condition. The VCF verifies and authenticates all documents you submit with your claim. Workers injury reports dated on or before September 11, 2003, documenting treatment of your injury that occurred at the site. The deadline to file a VCF claim (and any supporting documents) is October 1, 2090. These timeframes are different for each category of injuries and conditions. We also understand that some individuals have registered with the VCF to preserve their right to file a claim in the future, but are currently not sick and therefore are not eligible to file a claim unless their circumstances change at some point in the future. Minimum Award:$90K+ . To receive an award for VCF compensation, the survivor, responder or resident must have been diagnosed with at least one 9/11-related eligible condition. If you did not experience any physical injury or condition as a result of September 11th, but you experienced emotional or mental harm, you are not eligible for compensation from the VCF. Collectively, the laws governing the VCF are referred to below as the VCF Act..