According to a report from the New York Workers Compensation Board, insurance companies are disputing individual claims of illness and injuries related to 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center at twice the rate of disputes made to illness and injury insurance claims that are not related to 9/11. About 41% of World Trade Center related claims are disputed by insurance companies, compared to about 16% disputes for all other claims.
In the NY Workers Compensation Board report, it indicates that rescue, recovery and cleanup workers who persist and keep at their claims do end up receiving coverage through Worker's Compensation- but more than 4,000 claims have been dismissed because the individuals submitting the claims failed to attend meetings and provide medical evidence of their claims.
While it is now possible for the first responders at the World Trade Center attacks to receive compensation for the illnesses and injuries – they sure haven't made the process easy and many people give up before receiving that compensation. The Occupational Safety Director of AFSCME's District Counsel 37, Lee Clarke, indicates it takes from 18 months to 3 years to get claims resolved.
