9/11 news roundup: health, insurance, and disability-related issues

September 11th, 2004 by Julie Ferguson

Most Ground Zero Volunteers Still Waiting For Workers’ Comp
From Adjuster.com: “A study of workers’ compensation claims from the cleanup at the World Trade Center site after the Sept. 11 attacks found that about 90 percent of the 10,182 claims for workers’ comp have been resolved. In contrast, less than a third, or 31 percent, of the 588 volunteer claims were resolved as of June 30, 2004, the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, found.
Sept. 11 attacks didn’t bankrupt U.S. insurers: Study
Business Insurance reports on a forthcoming study from Ball State University in Muncie on the effects of 9/11 on the insurance industry that states that the impact on the insurance industry was less than anticipated, partly due to the federal compensation fund. .
Breathing and mental health problems widespread among Ground Zero rescue and recovery workers
Preliminary data from screenings conducted at The Mount Sinai Medical Center show that both upper and lower respiratory problems and mental health difficulties are widespread among rescue and recovery workers who dug through the ruins of the World Trade Center in the days following its destruction in the attack of September 11, 2001.
An analysis of the screenings of 1,138 workers and volunteers who responded to the World Trade Center disaster found that nearly three-quarters of them experienced new or worsened upper respiratory problems at some point while working at Ground Zero. And half of those examined had upper and/or lower respiratory symptoms that persisted up to the time of their examinations, an average of eight months after their WTC efforts ended. In addition, more than half of the Ground Zero workers who were examined had persistent psychological symptoms.
(via Pulse).
9/11 Impact on Marsh & McLennan Cos. Nothing Short of Devastation
Claims Journal features an interview with Marsh & McLennan Companies Chairman and CEO Jeff Greenberg reflecting on the lingering aftermath of the loss of 295 employees in terms of both the human and the business impact.
Additional stories:
Lingering 9/11 anger finds its outlet in courts
Court declines to hear appeal of 9-11 Workers’ Comp benefit case
No answers for kin of Mexican 9/11 victims
WTC rescue workers still ailing, study finds
Terrorism insurance is now common
World Trade Center Health Registry
Cantor Fitzgerald sues al-Qaeda over Sept. 11
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to join 9/11 lawsuit against Saudis
The miracle survivors – coping with recovery
Workers Comp and terror: the long shadow

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