9/11 Cleanup Workers Can Sue Over Health Claims, Court Rules

BATTERY PARK CITY, NY — 9/11 cleanup workers who were sickened by toxins in the Battery Park City neighborhood can sue the Battery Park City Authority over their health claims, New York's highest court ruled Tuesday.

Numerous cleanup workers who were sickened during the 9/11 cleanup efforts can move forward with their lawsuits against the Battery Park City Authority, the public benefit corporation created to help plan the Lower Manhattan neighborhood. Tuesday's ruling, made by the New York Court of Appeals, marks a significant step forward for the 9/11 cleanup workers, whose claims have been stalled by a long legal back-and-forth.

The saga started when various 9/11 cleanup workers filed lawsuits against the BCPA between 2006 and 2009, arguing that the corporation had failed to adequately protect workers from asbestos and other toxins while they worked to remove debris from BCPA-owned buildings and properties. When those claims were dismissed thanks to a limitation on when such compensation claims could be filed, the state legislature responded with a new law.

Jimmy Nolan's Law, enacted in 2009, extended the time that 9/11 workers could file compensation claims for injuries they suffered during the rescue or recovery efforts. The law was named for a carpenter who immediately rushed to Ground Zero when the Twin Towers were attacked. He slept at the World Trade Center for three weeks after while helping with the cleanup and recover efforts, and now suffers from respiratory problems and other illnesses.

After the law was passed, 9/11 workers refiled claims against the Battery Park City Authority. When the BCPA argued Jimmy Nolan's law was unconstitutional and a district court sided with the corporation, the New York attorney general's office intervened on behalf of the workers, saying it had a "strong moral obligation" to help support the workers.

Tuesday's ruling insists that that the workers can proceed with their claims against the Battery Park City Authorities. A spokesman for the Battery Park City Authority said the corporation did not have a comment on the decision.

Thousands of other workers have already successfully received compensation over health claims from New York City.

Image credit: Ron Agam / Stringer / Getty Images News. Image caption: Cars sits amid rubble at the World Trade Center after two hijacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers September 11, 2001 in New York.