Class action lawsuit claims 9/11 rescue workers sick and dying from toxic exposure

By Brian Cole

Published on May 08, 2006

The 7,300 plaintiff lawsuit also claims that the City of New York and the New York Police Department have repeatedly failed to recognize that people who worked in the area are now seriously ill and dying. Any such admission could, in essence, be an admission of guilt that would highlight negligent management of toxic substances following the collapse of the twin towers.

In an effort to show the causal connection between the toxic substances and the deaths of workers at Ground Zero, the Detectives' Endowment Association (DEA) called a news conference where they announced the results of an autopsy performed on Detective James Zadroga. The autopsy found that Detective Zadroga died as a direct result of respiratory failure brought on by exposure to toxic substances and fine particles he inhaled while working at Ground Zero.

The DEA wants Zadroga's death reclassified as occurring 'in the line of duty' to provide his orphaned daughter with a larger pension. Other detectives who are suffering from serious respiratory problems or lung cancers that have left them disabled or terminally ill were also at the news conference.

Medical experts are concerned that the thousands of first responders, rescue and recovery workers, volunteers, construction workers and others at Ground Zero in the months after the attack will continue to suffer significant, if not fatal, consequences as a result of exposure to toxic substances.

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