The September 11, 2001 attack was a tragic moment in USA’s history, and the country is still reeling from its devastating impact on American citizens. This attack, which targeted the World Trade Center, saw how terrorist violence could shatter the lives of many in a matter of seconds.
In response to the attack, the Congress created a Victim Compensation Fund, better known as VCF to its claimants. The program’s initial goal was to compensate the victims of the 9/11 attack as well as their families in exchange for not suing the airlines involved. If the 9/11 attack affected you or a loved one, there’s so much information available on compensation, which can be a bit confusing at times.
If you want insights on compensation for 9/11 victims, you can read this guide or look here to learn everything you need about 9/11 compensation. Let’s get started.
What Is VCF?
VCF is a program created by Congress to compensate survivors and families of persons suffering from the horrific 9/11 attack. This compensation doesn’t seek to erase the tragic moments suffered on that day at the World Trade Center. Instead, it’s meant to reduce any financial burden that survivors or the personal representatives of the deceased might be going through because of events that happened at that time.
Besides individuals and families of the deceased in the World Trade Center during the attack, the VCF is also given to persons who consequently developed 9/11-related diseases. Other individuals eligible for the 9/11 VCF are the first responders, including those involved in the debris construction as well as removal and clean-up. It also entails those who went to work or school in the Exposure Zone.
The VCF covers a wide range of injuries, including head trauma, burns, fractures, and eye injuries. It also covers musculoskeletal disorders and mental health disorders that were triggered by the 9/11 attack, digestive disorders such as interstitial lung diseases, chronic coughs, gastroesophageal reflux disorder, reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS), and asthma.
In addition, VCF covers most cancers that can be linked to the events of the tragic 9/11 attack, and these include:
- Urinary system cancer, including bladder and kidney
- Digestive system cancer, including rectum and colon
- Breast cancer
- Blood cancer or leukemia
- Orbit and eye cancer
- Soft and connective tissue cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Skin cancer
- Thyroid cancer
These forms of cancer have been scientifically proven to affect the first responders who showed up to help due to exposure to cancer-causing substances in the environment.
In July 2019, the ‘Never Forget the Heroes: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act’ was officially signed. Thanks to this, VCF will now continue receiving funding for all qualifying claims, so long as they’re filed before the extended deadline of October 1, 2090.
How Does The VCF Work?
Before you go and register and claim for VCF, you must take your time to understand how VCF works. The VCF is usually run by the US Department of Justice, and the fund allocation duty is assigned by a Special Master. There are two VCF phases: eligibility and compensation.
This means that before you can request compensation, you must prove that you indeed are eligible for the VCF, either as a personal representative of the deceased victim’s estate or a victim. Here are some things you must meet to be an eligible claimant:
- Show proof of being around the NYC Exposure Zone from September 11, 2001 to May 30, 2002.
- Show evidence of suffering from a 9/11-related condition or illness that’s acknowledged by the World Trade Center Health Program. If the victim has passed on, you’re required as the personal representative to hand over original and approved copies of documents, for instance, Letters of Administration issued by courts and accredited by a Clerk of the Court or death certificates.
- Fill in all the forms correctly and hand them over alongside the necessary documentation by a particular deadline date.
The persons who are deemed eligible for the VCF include:
- Cleanup volunteers
- Survivors of the 9/11 attack who suffered physical wounds as a result
- Staff within the World Trade Center business area
- The persons residing in the location south of Canal Street
- Specific family members
- Victims of approved 9/11-related infections or conditions
- Personal representatives of individuals who passed away during the 9/11 terrorist attack or as a result of subsequent injuries
If your VCF request is approved, funds will be sent to the claimant’s designated bank account. The sum of money issued isn’t fixed and instead depends on certain circumstances, including:
- Economic losses, for instance, loss of income due to 9/11-related conditions or illness and loss of retirement or such other benefits
- The severity of medical illness or condition
With that said, the average compensation claimants can get from the VCF ranges from USD$500 to USD$8.6 million dollars per annum for personal injuries. However, for death claims, the average compensation amount is USD$2,082,128.
How Can You File A Claim For The VCF?
The first step of filing a claim for VCF is to register. While it’s easy to assume that filing and registering VCF are the same, this isn’t true. Registering for VCF is essentially reserving your right to claim compensation before October 1, 2090. You must first register before you can claim for VCF or else risk missing out on the compensation altogether.
The goal of registering is to allow VCF program administrators to determine how many employees are required to review and process future claims. Consequently, they’ll forecast how much money the VCF program needs to be distributed each year. While the claim filing deadline for VCF is October 1, 2090, the registration deadlines are shorter and depend on certain circumstances deemed as 9/11 related, and these include:
- A person suffering from an eligible condition is acknowledged by the WTC Health Program before July 29, 2019, and is required to register by July 29, 2021.
- An individual suffering from an illness or condition the WTC Health Program has recognized after July 29, 2019 should hand over the Registration Form within two years after receiving the WTC Health Program Certification Letter.
- The personal representative of a person who died as a result of a 9/11-related condition or illness before July 29, 2019 should register by July 29, 2021.
- A personal representative of a person who passed away due to a 9/11-linked condition or illness after July 29, 2019, should hand over the Registration Form within two years following the person’s date of death.
If you miss any of these registration deadlines, there’s a high chance that your claim request will be denied. However, VCF will first check your late registration circumstances and facts before deciding whether you’ll be eligible for compensation.
Registering for VCF can be done online, by phone, or with the help of a professional 9/11 benefits lawyer to guide you through the process. If you opt for a phone call, the toll-free helpline to use is 1-855-885-1555. Alternatively, you can go online to www.claims.vcf.gov to register and follow these steps:
- Tap on the option ‘Create Account,’ which you’ll see on your computer screen’s left side.
- Create and type your name, email, your preferred username, and set an appropriate and secure password. Don’t forget to enter security questions in case you misplace your login details to enable you to sign in to your account.
- Click on the option ‘Create Account’ after entering all the required details.
- A confirmation message will be sent informing you about successfully creating an account. Go ahead and tap on the link you see on the confirmation page.
- Click on the ‘Sign In’ option when you go to the welcome screen. Here, you should type your username and password to access your account.
- You’ll be given a claim number that will allow you to start your registration process. Go ahead and enter details in each of the tabs: victim, attorney if applicable, claimant when claiming on behalf of a victim, and alternate contact if necessary. Tap on Save to proceed to the next step.
- After you’re done, save all the requested details in all the tabs and tap Submit Registration.
- After verifying all the details are correct, press ‘Finalize and Submit Registration.’ Specific information such as social security number, victim name, and date of birth can’t be changed, so make sure you confirm they’re correct.
- A green box stating ‘Registration Submission Successful’ will show on the screen if everything during the registration goes smoothly.
Now that you’ve registered with VCF, you can sign in to your account and check your registration status, then hand in your claim.
Takeaway
There’s a lot of information that many people don’t know about compensation for the 9/11 victims. Having this knowledge is something you must be looking to learn if you have a loved one, either alive or deceased, suffering from 9/11-related diseases. If you don’t know where you could find such insightful information, this article has thoroughly reviewed everything you need to know about the 9/11 VCF.
