9/11 Fund to September 11 Survivors: File Your Claims ASAP

While the final October 3, 2016 deadline for all 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) claims is over a year away, the VCF is encouraging September 11 survivors to file their claims well in advance of this deadline.

October 3, 2016 is the final deadline for all materials, including registration, eligibility, and compensation information, to be submitted to the VCF. If claimants do not submit all of their information by this time they will not receive compensation from the VCF.

However, while October 3, 2016 is the official deadline, September 11 survivors filing after early 2016 may not have the benefit of the VCF’s assistance in supplementing their claim with missing documents and information. As the deadline approaches it will become more and more difficult to file a successful claim, so it is important that victims file immediately.

Time is Running Out for September 11 Survivors to Finish Claims

The 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund compensates not only first responders at Ground Zero but also individuals who lived, worked, or went to school in Lower Manhattan on and after 9/11 and were exposed to toxins from the dust and smoking debris of the World Trade Center. Thousands of September 11 survivors now have 9/11 related cancers and other conditions. While many September 11 survivors have registered claims with the VCF, some have not completed the next step and filed eligibility and compensation claims. Again, if these claimants fail to file all of the necessary information by October 3, 2016, they will not be compensated.

While the process of filing these claims can be tedious, it is vital that claimants file all of their materials as soon as possible. To do so, many September 11 survivors seek legal advice from attorneys who can assist in filing successful claims. The 9/11 VCF Special Master recently encouraged attorneys in a conference call to assist their clients in filing their claims sooner rather than later.