Deadline extended for WTC workers to decide on settlement

Ground Zero workers who believe they got sick during cleanup efforts at the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks now have two more months to decide whether to accept the terms of a multimillion-dollar settlement of lawsuits they filed against New York City and its contractors.

WTC Captive Insurance, which represents about 140 entities including the city and its contractors, said the remaining 5,000 or so plaintiffs who have not yet decided on the $712.5-million settlement have until Nov. 8 to make a decision.

"We are encouraged by the thousands of plaintiffs who have already opted in, but we decided to extend the deadline to make sure every plaintiff has ample time and information to make an informed decision," said Christine LaSala, president and chief executive of WTC Captive.

The original Sept. 8 deadline was set by U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein but the agreement allows WTC Captive to extend it, an attorney for the insurance company said. The settlement deal requires at least 95 percent of the more than 10,000 claimants to accept. If that is not reached, each claim will be handled separately in court.

Last week, Manhattan attorney Marc Bern, whose firm represents about 9,500 plaintiffs, said his office had received 4,000 acceptances of the settlement, with about 35 rejections.

In anticipation of near-unanimous approval of the settlement, officials said they will put $625 million into a separate "settlement" account on Monday, a step to prepare for payouts, to be disbursed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Kenny Specht, an ex-firefighter who responded on 9/11 and worked at Ground Zero for more than two months, said he had rejected the deal. "Since the first time they brought this garbage to us [it] has been a wounded horse, and it needs to be put out of its misery," he said. "It needs to be put down."

The $124,000-$157,000 he said was offered could not adequately compensate him for the thyroid cancer he believes resulted from work at the site.