N.Y. speeds up benefits to 9/11 rescue workers

New York State has adopted a trio of laws designed to speed workers’ compensation benefits for workers and their families with claims related to 9/11 rescue efforts.

The first new law enables many workers who became ill after the expiration of the statutory two-year workers’ compensation filing deadline to resubmit their claims.

The second new law permits application for accidental death benefits to families of police officers, firefighters, and other uniformed personnel who participated in the rescue and clean-up at the World Trade Center site.

The third new law eliminates the statute of limitations to allow rescue and recovery workers who retired from public service to later have their retirement status reclassified as accidental disability if illnesses related to their work on the rescue and clean-up service on 9/11 later surface.

The state has also adopted a plan to improve rescue workers’ access to the workers’ compensation system. The plan creates more flexibility in health care while claims are being litigated, ensures more timely access to medical procedures that require pre-approval, and calls upon insurers to provide benefits to claimants before cases have been fully resolved.

“New York will never forget the heroes of September 11th, the men and women who tirelessly worked at the site of the world’s most horrific terror attacks, to help save lives, recover the remains of loved ones and begin the rebuilding process in Lower Manhattan,” Gov. George Pataki said. He said workers should not be denied benefits because of a statutory time limit they had no hope of meeting.

To date, the Workers’ Compensation Board has indexed 10,779 claims related to the World Trade Center attacks. Of those claims, 94 percent are classified as fully resolved.