Help Us Inform Injured 9/11 Responders and Survivors about VCF deadline this coming October 3rd.
This week, there are fewer than 100 days until the October 3rd deadline by which most injured Responders and Survivors have to file a claim with the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.
Because it is so hard to reach those effected by 9/11, and because the VCF deadline is coming up, 911 Health Watch is asking its members to help us reach out to Responders and Survivors who were injured by 9/11 and make sure they know that they need to file their claims.
9/11 Responders and Survivors are in the best position to help other 9/11 Responders and Survivors since they are more likely to know them and how to reach them.
Please take the time to email 10 other 9/11 Responders or Survivors and make sure they know about the coming deadline. Below is a suggested email that you can forward, or you can go to the 911 Health Watch website to send the emails here.
Thank you.
Suggested email from 9/11 Responders and Survivors:
Subject: Time May Be Running Out
As someone like you, who was at Ground Zero, I wanted to take a minute to make sure that you knew about the Victim Compensation Fund, created by the James Zadroga, 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.
If you were injured in the attacks on 9/11 or the rescue and recovery effort that followed, you need to learn about the Victim Compensation Fund and how it could help you, and make sure you do not miss the coming deadlines that might apply to you.
The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, or VCF, was reopened in 2010 when Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the “James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.” The law allows 9/11 Responders and Survivors who became ill or the loved ones of those who have passed due to 9/11 injuries to apply for compensation for economic and non-economic losses (pain and suffering) stemming from their physical injuries. The deadlines are complicated, but for most Responders and Survivors, you must complete and submit an online registration by this coming October 3rd, 2013 if you know or should have known that you were injured as a result of the attacks of September 11th, 2001.
Even if you are enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program, receiving medical monitoring and or treatment for your 9/11 injury, you still NEED TO REGISTER WITH THE VCF.
Even if you filed with the N.Y.S. Worker’s Compensation Board or your Pension Board, you still NEED TO REGISTER WITH THE VCF.
For Responders and Survivors who have only a WTC cancer, the deadline is over a year later than October 3rd for filing a claim for injury due to cancer, but 911 Health Watch is advising potential registrants to learn about their rights under the law now, to make sure they understand the deadlines and do not miss a required filing.
If you are not sure that you have begun the process and want to check whether you have filed a claim with the VCF, you can call the VCF helpline at 1-855-885-1555.
To file a claim or to learn more about the VCF and applicable deadlines, go to: http://www.vcf.gov/register.html
To learn about the World Trade Center Health Program and the services that are available to Responders and Survivors around the country, got to: http://www.cdc.gov/wtc/
To learn more about the 911 Health Watch and the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, go to: http://www.911healthwatch.org/
If you would like to help make sure injured 9/11 Responders and Survivors know about the VCF and its coming deadline you can either forward this email to 10 other Injured 9/11 Responders or Survivors or go to the 911 Health Watch Web page here: http://tinyurl.com/911share.