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Profile Type:
Member
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Profile Views:
311 views
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Last Update:
April 21, 2016
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Last Login:
April 21, 2016
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Joined:
April 21, 2016
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Member Level:
LRC Member
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Personal Information
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First Name
Barasch McGarry
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Last Name
Salzman & Penson
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Gender
Male
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Birthday
July 12, 1955
Personal Details
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About Me
Since 2004, our law firm fought to reopen the VCF because so many of our clients continued to be diagnosed with new respiratory illnesses caused by the toxic dust, and/or they were found disabled after they had received an award for a non-disabling injury. We were delighted that in December 2010, Congress passed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act (Zadroga Act). In January 2011 President Obama signed it into law. The new Fund was named in honor of our client, NYPD Detective Jimmy Zadroga, who died of pulmonary fibrosis disease in 2006. An autopsy confirmed the existence of ground glass and other particulate matter and WTC toxins in his lungs. This was the concrete medical evidence that advocates needed to help convince Congress to reopen the VCF. As a result, $2.4 billion was made available for medical care and $2.7 billion was set aside for compensation to those whose health deteriorated after 2003 when the first VCF closed. This time, Congress stipulated that the VCF and the WTC Health Program would remain open for just 5 years.
In 2011, Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr. appointed esteemed attorney Sheila Birnbaum as the Fund’s Special Master. She was given the job of organizing efforts to reopen the VCF in order to provide compensation to all the first responders and local residents who were diagnosed with WTC-linked illnesses.
Fighting to Extend the Zadroga Health & Compensation Act
Soon after the new VCF was up and running, peer-reviewed medical studies were published which linked dozens of cancers to the WTC toxic dust. The National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) officially added over 60 cancers to the list of compensable illnesses. It was immediately apparent that Congress had not adequately funded the VCF and or the WTC Health Program. It was clear to the medical community that the 70,000 patients who had registered with the WTC Health Program would require a life time of medical monitoring and treatment.
For two years, Michael worked with NYC lawmakers, union leaders, comedian John Stewart (who shamed recalcitrant politicians) and 9/11 advocates to spread the word that a moral injustice was about to be done to the sick first responders and local residents. If the VCF wasn’t properly funded and extended, thousands of claimants would receive just 40% of what the VCF had promised them. Moreover, life-saving health care would stop for thousands of very sick people. The firm’s signature contribution to the extension efforts was a series of email blasts to the firm’s nearly 10,000 clients urging them to call their local politicians in Washington. Our clients called and the politicians finally listened. On December 18, 2015 Congress voted to reauthorize and extend the VCF. It provided an additional $4.8 billion to assure that current VCF claimants receive their entire VCF award and so people who are diagnosed with WTC cancers in the next five years are able to receive compensation as well. Moreover, the reauthorization provided $3 billion to the WTC Health Program to ensure that it will remain open and continue to provide medical care for the next 75 years.
We will continue to fight to extend the VCF long after 2020, so that people who desperately need assistance are not left to shoulder their burdens alone. Every day there’s another client calling our office, saying that although they can’t work, thanks to their Zadroga VCF award, they can pay off their loans and send their kids to college. Despite their illnesses, they now have financial security. It is very gratifying to know that we have had such a meaningful impact on our clients’ lives.”
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