The Special Master interprets the statutory language to allow compensating these limited number of severe non-cancer claimants in the same way that a cancer claimant would be compensated meaning, $250,000 for a single condition, and a maximum award, under current VCF policy guidelines, of $340,000 for multiple severe conditions. The VCF may also accept a determination of disability made by a private insurer or a treating physician if they are sufficiently detailed as to the effect of the VCF eligible condition, distinguish those effects from those of ineligible conditions, and provide sufficient information from which the onset and severity of the disabling condition may be determined. In addition, if you filed your initial claim before December 18, 2020, and you did not claim medical expenses in your initial claim, you may file an amendment for medical expenses, and we will consider it, subject to the other requirements discussed in this document. Charitable gifts - the final regulations clarify that benefits from charities (privately-funded charitable entities) disbursing private donations will not be treated as collateral source compensation, even if such charities were created or managed by governmental entities. Such payments will be assumed to continue and will be offset unless evidence is submitted that the benefits or payments in fact terminated. See Section 2.3 for a detailed explanation of the methodology used to calculate future lost earnings. In addition to evidence of a compensable loss, you must submit information about collateral source payments that the VCF may be required to offset against a lost earnings award. In general, the VCF will accept a determination by a governmental agency that you have a disability and will accept the governmental agencys determination of the cause of the disability. 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. Each award is calculated individually. The VCF will review these benefits on a case-by-case basis. 2. Work-life expectancy: Determine a measure of the victims expected remaining years of workforce participation using the tabulated work-life expectancies for the victims age at the time of death or at the time the victim was unable to work, or had to reduce work, as a result of eligible conditions contained in the publication, Gary R. Skoog, James E. Ciecka, Kurt V. Krueger, The Markov Model of Labor Force Activity 2012-17: Extended Tables of Central Tendency, Shape, Percentile Points, and Bootstrap Standard Errors, Journal of Forensic Economics, Volume 28, Issue 1 (2019), pp. What are the VCF payouts and how likely you will get one? A New York firefighter amid the rubble of the World Trade Center after the September 11, 2001 attacks. If you were found to be partially disabled due to an eligible condition in VCF1 based on an FDNY disability determination, and the Social Security Administration subsequently determined that you became fully disabled due to the same condition after your VCF1 award was issued, you may be eligible for additional compensation. The VCF will treat all conditions in the category of Obstructive Airways Diseases (OAD) as equivalent. longevity raises, overtime, bonuses, differential pay, etc.) If you withdraw all of your economic loss claims, the VCF will then review your claim for non-economic loss only. As a general rule, under the terms of the VCF Act, the Special Master has identified the following conditions as presumptively less severe and debilitating and thus warranting lower awards, absent medical documentation of severity, than the highest allowable for a non-cancer condition: Asthma/RADS, Barretts Esophagus, Bronchiecstasis, Chronic Airway Obstruction, Chronic Bronchitis, Chronic Cough, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Rhinitis, Esophagitis, Gastroesophageal Reflux (GERD), Laryngitis, Nasopharyngitis, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Pharyngitis, Respiratory Conditions due to Fumes or Vapors, Rhinosinusitis, Sinusitis, and Traumatic Injury or Musculoskeletal Disorder. If you received $125,000 of non-economic loss in VCF1 for asthma, and you amend in VCF2 for additional non-economic loss for newly certified interstitial lung disease and emphysema that have progressively worsened, the VCF will consider you to be fully compensated for your eligible conditions and will not award additional non-economic loss. The Victim Compensation Fund periodically posts updates on the awards issued to claimants and beneficiaries. 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. 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). 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. 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. This subtraction is a standard adjustment in evaluating loss of earnings in wrongful death claims because some amount of the income the decedent would have contributed to the household would have been consumed personally by the decedent and not available to other household members. If a claimant requests and is approved to enter the Process, a WTC Health Program physician will conduct a one-time disability evaluation of the claimant and prepare a disability evaluation report, which the claimant will submit with his/her claim. These conditions include rhinitis, sinusitis, rhinosinusitis, tracheitis, laryngotracheitis, laryngitis, nasopharyngitis, and pharyngitis. If you're preparing to submit a claim to the VCF, you may have many questions about the September 11 th Victim Compensation Fund ("VCF") claim review process. 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. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Respiratory conditions due to fumes and vapors, Cyclosporine (Restasis, Sandimmune, Neoral, Gengraf, Apo- Cyclosporine), Methotrexate (Trexall, Rheeumatrex, Rasuvo, Otrexup), Pathology Esophagus, gastric, duodenum specimens, Cryotherapy ( also known as cryoabalation, cryosurgery). The maximum non-economic loss for any one type of cancer condition is $250,000, and the maximum non-economic loss for any one type of non- cancer condition is $90,000. Follow the instructions on "How to File an Amendment" to amend your claim. 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 eligible cancers, the non-economic award will generally range between $90,000 and $250,000, depending on the type of cancer and the medical evidence provided regarding metastasis, recurrence, and/or permanent complications. As a result, the VCF has established specific criteria about when and how you should submit your claim for medical expenses. 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. This includes compensation paid to your dependents or to the beneficiaries of a deceased victim as a result of the eligible injury, such as benefits that the Social Security Administration pays to dependents of a disabled or deceased wage earner. Our claim analysis therefore always begins with three essential questions: was there a demonstrable loss, can we reasonably conclude the loss was caused by a WTC-related eligible condition, and what makes sense in the context of this claimant and the individual circumstances of this claim? 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. The 9/11 attorneys at Gregory J. Cannata & Associates are highly experienced and regarded in gathering and reviewing the appropriate information to help ensure the success of an award. . Recent medical records documenting severity and/or effect of the condition on daily life. 1/60th calculation (for those who served over 20 years), Total annual retirement salary (i.e., pension amount). If you filed a claim for more than one type of economic loss, you may choose to withdraw some or all of your economic loss claims. 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. Non-economic loss is sometimes called a pain and suffering award. Information aboutcompensation you received from collateral sources that must be subtracted from your lost earnings award. These are generally accepted tables of work-life expectancy regarding the general population. For example, you could submit letters or reports from specialists who treated your eligible conditions. 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. In addition, the legislation created the WTC Health Program, which provides monitoring and treatment for 9/11-related conditions and can certify such illnesses for a VCF claim. In such a case, if medical records submitted provide no other discernable basis for the claimants SSA disability, then it will be presumed that the eligible Interstitial Lung Disease is the same as the disabling condition. Records of state and federal agency proceedings or private insurance records that address your medical condition. [2] Effective income tax rates derived from IRS data for New York are shown in Table 1 below. 4 You should then deduct the amount you have received or are entitled to receive from any collateral sources as described above. Once the award is calculated, we send you a letter explaining the breakdown of your award and an option to appeal within 30 days if you believe an error was made in the calculation. You must complete and submit a consent for release of SSA information (Exhibit 1 to the Claim Form) in order for the VCF to obtain this information. Each of these types of loss is explained in the sections below. The methodology computes the loss in each year (including pensions) and caps the loss at $200,000 in each year. The VCF also refers to non-economic loss as a "pain and suffering" award. 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). Historical unemployment rates were examined and a reduction factor of 6% is applied to presumed earnings and fringe benefits to account for this risk[4]. As of the end of 2021, the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund has paid out almost $9.4 billion dollars to 9/11 victims and their families. The information that the VCF needs depends on your employer/retirement system: See Section 2.2f for FDNY, 2.2g for NYPD, 2.2h for members of the New York City Employees Retirement System (NYCERS), 2.2i for members of the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS), 2.2j for Federal employees including the military and military reserve, 2.2k for Union/Verizon/Con Edison, and 2.2l for other employers that are not listed. A special responsibility. 1. See the section below about documentation of employment-related benefits. Individuals who submit a claim for a loss of future earnings/benefits from the Military or Military Reserve must submit documentation of the following: If you have been found partially or totally disabled by the Military, submit complete documentation of the basis of your medical retirement (e.g. If you submit documents after the VCF finalizes substantive review of your claim, but before your award letter is issued, we will notify you in the award letter that the documents have not been reviewed. You must be certain any documentation you provide meets the requirements outlined in Documentation Required to Support a Medical Expenses Claim below. Collateral sources may include 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 in the immediate aftermath. The Special Master has the discretion to exclude from consideration life insurance proceeds that are distributed to persons other than the beneficiaries of the VCF award. The maximum noneconomic award for any one type of noncancerous condition is $90,000. The VCF was reauthorized on December 18, 2015, with the enactment of Title IV of Division O of the The VCF is required to consider your non-economic loss in the context of the current statutory caps. An exception to this general rule may arise in those cases where a claimant is found disabled by the SSA due to Chronic Pulmonary Insufficiency or Chronic Respiratory Disorders and his or her only eligible condition is an Interstitial Lung Disease (e.g., sarcoidosis or pulmonary fibrosis). These claimants might require lung transplants (sometimes double lung transplants), or significant mechanical respiratory assistance on a daily basis. See Table 7: Which Offsets Apply to Which Types of Loss. That tragic day nearly 3,000 people perished as the planes crashed, and WTC buildings collapsed. NYPD victims who retired on a non-WTC-related accidental pension, ordinary disability pension that is not based on VCF-eligible conditions, or service pension will not be eligible for a lost earnings award unless they can provide a disability determination from a third-party entity such as the Social Security Administration or a treating physician that identifies a VCF-eligible condition as a basis of the disability determination. Employer-provided benefits: Add the value of employer-provided benefits (or other benefits received through employment, such as from a union or government pension program). VCF Policies and Procedures Section 3: Awards and Payment Date effective November 16, 2022 When the VCF has made an award determination for your claim, you will receive a letter notifying you of the amount of your award. How Much Am I Eligible For? As noted above, the non-economic award 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, as demonstrated by recent medical records, except in those cases treated as presumptively severe (where medical records are not needed in order to qualify for the highest award allowed by the statutory caps). To calculate the non-economic award for additional dependents, add an additional $100,000 for each dependent beyond the third dependent. If your medical expenses claim does not meet the documentation requirements described in this section, the VCF reserves the right to deny the claim. As special master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, or VCF, she faced a dilemma . 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. 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. 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 were compensated fully through sick pay or other compensation, that means you have not lost compensation. 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. The start of loss date is typically the onset date of disability. Table 4 below shows calculated consumption rates by income bracket and for various household sizes. In order to accelerate the review of claims for all claimants, the VCF will not review voluminous medical records (i.e., 75 pages or more) that are submitted without highlighting or a written guide. Claims seeking only non-economic loss are the simplest and fastest to review. 42 U.S.C. Since each claim involves reviewing a substantial amount of documentation, and each award is calculated individually, the process can . This means that we consider both fairness to the individual claimant as well as fairness to the entire claimant population, with priority given to those who suffer from the most debilitating physical conditions. If you have applied or plan to apply to PSOB Programs for a September 11th-related injury, you should note the PSOB application in the Collateral Offsets section of the claim form. If Year 5 total earnings exceed 120% of average, the pension basis will be capped at 120%. Beginning in February 2019, the VCF's special master began to reduce some award payments because the fund's administrators anticipated that the VCF would not have sufficient funds to pay all valid claims. 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. 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. The exception will be made only in the small number of non-cancer claims where the claimant has an interstitial lung disease (ILD) or other pulmonary illness where the effects of the condition are so severe that they are similar in all relevant respects to what a claimant with lung cancer might suffer. 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. Specifically, the NY Workers Compensation law, Section 29(1-b) provides as follows: 1-b. Therefore, this information should be viewed as a general guide to how the VCF implements our fundamental principles: fairness to the claimants, faithfulness to the statute, and accountability to the public, in the service of compensating demonstrable loss caused by an eligible condition. In some cases,the VCF may estimate your benefits using presumptive values.
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