Worby, Vecchio, Edelman LLP

Ailing rescue workers from the World Trade Center site filed a lawsuit Tuesday charging that a $1 billion insurance fund set up after Sept. 11, 2001, violated a congressional mandate to pay their injury claims and instead spent millions of dollars fighting those claims.

Officials seek links to Sound Shore Legionnaires cases NEW ROCHELLE Legionnella bacteria have been identified in the water supply inside Sound Shore Medical Center, and health officials are investigating whether that source sickened any of the 21 people who came down with Legionnaires disease beginning in June. The investigation into the outbreak has moved inside the hospital, although laboratory tests have confirmed that bacteria spewing from an air conditioning cooling tower outside the hospital s Washington Avenue entrance were responsible for two for the 21 cases, Robert Kenny, a spokesman for the state Health Department, said yesterday. We have now results that show the presence of Legionella in some water sources inside the hospital, but there are no laboratory findings that link these other sources to any specific patient illness, Kenny said. He said testing done several weeks ago showed Legionella was in the potable water supply water used for drinking and ba

Hospital awaits more actions after outbreak of Legionnaires WHITE PLAINS In thrice-weekly trips to the dialysis center at Sound Shore Medical Center in New Rochelle, Stephen Burke does not recall ever feeling the spray of water vapor from a cooling tower near the hospital entrance. His wife, Bridget Burke, did wonder, though, why the unit, part of the hospital air-conditioning system, was on the ground and not the roof. Those systems are always high up, she said yesterday. Health officials believe just walking by the cooling tower, which emitted a fine mist of water, may have been enough to sicken at least 20 people with Legionnaires disease since late June, among them Stephen Burke. Bacteria that cause the illness were found in the tower, which has since been replaced. Lawyers for Burke yesterday filed a lawsuit alleging negligence on the part of the hospital. It was the first legal action to emerge from the outbreak and likely not the last. Sal Schilliro, a Sou

Originally posted in New York Magazine.

800 cleanup workers seek medical $$ (Excerpts) Health hazards Recent studies, which bolster cleanup workers suit, found: Only 1 in 5 cleanup workers at Ground Zero wore respirators while at the site in the aftermath of the terror strikes. Airborne contaminants from the rubble included pulverized cement, glass fibers, asbestos, diesel exhaust and chemicals. Many of the workers suffer from respiratory problems, including asthma, shortness of breath, sinusitis and chest tightness, long after the cleanup. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Richard Mulhern remembers working at Ground Zero in the days and months after 9/11 and thinking that he was standing in a toxic cloud. The air, it didn t look good. But our country was calling for our help, said Mulhern, a telecommunications worker who spent 18 months working on the cleanup and reconstruction around the World Trade Center. Mulhern, who says he suffers from chronic respiratory problems th

A group of workers has filed a class-action lawsuit against the companies hired to clean up after the World Trade Center attack. The workers claim they were exposed to toxic fumes and debris at Ground Zero. The lawsuit, which also names the entities that leased and managed the trade center, was filed on Friday in federal court in Manhattan and announced yesterday. The companies have not yet responded. The plaintiffs also intend to sue the City of New York, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the federal Environmental Protection Agency, David E. Worby, the lawyer for the workers, said. He was joined at a news conference by 13 people who he said had physical ailments directly related to their exposure to what he said were 9/11 toxins.

About 800 people who worked clearing the World Trade Center site have filed a class action against the leaseholder and those who supervised the cleanup, alleging they did little to protect workers from the toxins that were unleashed when the towers collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001. The suit, filed Friday in Manhattan federal court and made public Monday, claims that Silverstein Properties and the four construction companies hired to oversee the removal of the 1.5 million tons of debris should have known that safety precautions were needed to protect the rescue workers and cleanup workers and anyone else exposed to the caustic dust from the airborne contamination, toxins and other substances. The suit was filed by Worby Vecchio Edelman, LLP in White Plains and Napoli Bern in Manhattan. The plaintiffs allege that the toxins caused persistent ailments such as asthma, stress, constant coughing and shortness of breath. Howard Rubenstein, a spokesman for trade center leaseholder Larry Silverste

Hundreds of people who worked on the World Trade Center cleanup after the Sept. 11 terror attacks have filed a class-action lawsuit. Hundreds of people who worked on the World Trade Center cleanup after the Sept. 11 terror attacks have filed a class-action lawsuit claiming they weren t protected from dust, asbestos and other toxins. The lawsuit, filed in federal court on Friday and made public Monday, was brought against Silverstein Properties and the four construction companies hired to oversee removal of the 1.5 million tons of debris. David Worby is a lawyer for about 800 plaintiffs. He said they will seek billions of dollars in compensation. The lawsuit also asks for a system to track for the next 20 years all who were exposed. The lawsuit alleges that many workers didn t have access to protective gear, and those who did weren t taught how to wear it properly. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study showing that many cleanup workers su

Class action claims workers inadequately shielded from toxins NEW YORK Hundreds of people who worked on the World Trade Center cleanup have filed a class-action lawsuit against the leaseholder of the towers and those who supervised the job, alleging they did little to protect workers from dust, asbestos and other toxins in the air. The lawsuit, filed in federal court on Friday and made public yesterday, was brought against Silverstein Properties and the four construction companies hired to oversee the removal of the 1.5 million tons of debris. David Worby, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said he will seek billions of dollars in compensation for victims. The lawsuit also asks for the establishment of a system to track for the next 20 years all those who were exposed. The lawsuit alleges that many workers did not have access to protective gear, and those who did were not taught how to wear it properly. While some of the plaintiffs suffer from afflictions ranging from tumors

More than 600 people have filed a class-action lawsuit contending they suffered health problems from the cleanup of the World Trade Center, officials said yesterday. The billion-dollar federal suit, which seeks money for medical testing and screening, cites the effects of WTC toxic diseases, according to a news release. A press conference about the case is scheduled for tomorrow at a hotel near Ground Zero. This complaint names a number of defendants who owned, managed, controlled and leased the various buildings within the WTC complex, the release said. The specific defendants were unclear, but they seemed likely to include twin towers leaseholder Larry Silverstein, the Port Authority, which owns the site, and the city. The lead lawyer in the case is David Worby, who could not be reached for comment yesterday. His firm, Worby Vecchio Edelman, LLP, represents two NYPD detectives who sued the city in June.That suit, by detective John Walcott, who has terminal cancer,