NEW YORK, Feb 22, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The sickest workers claiming
ailments caused by the cleanup of the World Trade Center will be the first to
have their cases heard in court, a U.S. judge says.
The first 30 trials are to begin May 17, 2010, said U.S. District Judge Alvin
Hellerstein.
"Their cases deserved to be tried first, for if they were to prevail, they have
the greatest need for a monetary recovery," said Hellerstein, who is overseeing
9,090 individual lawsuits by construction workers, firefighters, police and
others claiming injuries from the rescue and cleanup of the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks.
Settlements or verdicts in the first 30 cases will point the way for hundreds of
other plaintiffs to settle their cases without enduring years of legal delays,
Hellerstein said.
The plaintiffs allege exposure to toxic materials caused their illnesses. They
contend the city and World Trade Center contractors failed to protect them, the
New York Post reported Sunday.
More than $200 million of the $1 billion allocated by Congress to cover the
claims has been lost in bond investments or has gone to pay administrative
overhead and legal costs, the Post reported.
URL: www.upi.com
Copyright 2009 by United Press International