VCF Payout Chart For Conditions Related To 9/11 (2024)

The VCF payout chart sets the caps for non-economic payouts from the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund. Learn about the fund and how to calculate your payout.

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VCF Payout Chart For Conditions Related To 9/11 (2024)

Summary

  • The fund pays compensation for injury/death resulting from the 9/11 attacks
  • It does not pay for emotional injuries or future medical expenses
  • Applicants have strict eligibility criteria for filing

What Is the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund?

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, have had a long-term impact on those directly involved. Some people experienced physical injuries and developed long-term illnesses as a result of their exposure to the wreckage at the three attack sites. The Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) pays compensation to victims and their families who experienced physical injury or death.

Claimants must show their injuries resulted from the terrorist attacks or the cleanup afterward. The fund’s goal is to cut off class actions against airlines, builders and other entities that might get blamed for the harm victims suffered.

Eligibility for VCF Claims

People can receive compensation by proving two elements:

Covered Condition

VCF administrators have a list of presumptively covered conditions. If you have one of these conditions and prove that you were at the site or in the flight path during or after the attacks, the WTC Health Program can certify your eligibility.

The list is not exhaustive, but it includes several notable injuries and illnesses, including the following:

  • Acute injuries suffered during the attacks, like broken bones or brain injuries
  • Respiratory conditions like asthma and COPD caused by dust exposure
  • Cancers from exposure to building materials, jet fuel and other carcinogens

You do not necessarily get more if you have multiple covered conditions.

Compensable Loss

If you suffered a physical injury, you probably have compensable losses. Any of the following losses can qualify as compensable under the VCF legislation:

  • Medical costs
  • Income losses
  • Replacement services expenses
  • Pain and suffering

Because the definition is so broad, it is easier to describe what is not compensable. You cannot file a claim for losses for future medical expenses or mental injuries.

Compensation Available From the Fund

Type of Loss Condition/Description Amount
Non-Economic Loss for DeathDeath$250,000 for victim; $100,000 for spouse and each dependent
Non-Economic Loss for InjuryOne type of cancerbetween $90,000 and $250,000
Non-Economic Loss for InjuryMultiple cancers / severe non-cancerUp to $340,000
Non-Economic Loss for InjuryNon-melanoma skin cancerAround $90,000
Non-Economic Loss for InjuryNon-cancer conditions: Emphysema, Interstitial Lung Disease, SarcoidosisUp to $90,000
Non-Economic Loss for InjuryOther less severe non-cancer conditionsStarts at $10,000 and may increase depending on the severity of the condition
Economic Loss: Loss of EarningsLoss of wages due to disability or death.Varies based on multiple factors
Economic Loss: Loss of BenefitsLoss of employment benefits such as health insurance and pension.Varies based on multiple factors
Economic Loss: Replacement Services LossLoss of unpaid services the victim providedVaries based on multiple factors

Amounts are based on VCF Policies and Procedures.

The fund pays eligible claimants three types of compensation:

Out-of-Pocket Medical Expenses

The fund will reimburse medical expenses for covered conditions. VCF is secondary to your health insurance. In other words, you must first submit a claim to your health insurer, if any. VCF will cover the out-of-pocket expenses that your insurer did not pay.

However, VCF has an important limitation. You must prove at least $5,000 in unreimbursed out-of-pocket medical costs in your claim. For example, suppose that you had surgery costing $15,000. Your health coverage paid $12,500, and you paid $2,500 in copays. In this situation, your expenses are too low to file a claim. However, if you were uninsured, you could still file a claim.

Economic Losses

There are two types of economic losses. The first is lost income. Suppose that you had chemotherapy for lung cancer caused by chemical exposure at Ground Zero. In that case, you can seek compensation for the wages you lost during your recovery. Importantly, you can also claim future income losses if your injuries disable you from working.

The second economic loss type is the cost of replacement services. It compensates you for any services you have to pay for that you can no longer do yourself because of your injury. For instance, you might hire someone to perform household chores like childcare, cooking and home repair.

You can always claim these losses when you file a claim on behalf of someone who died from their injuries. VCF limits when you can claim these losses for non-fatal injuries.

Non-Economic Losses

Economic losses are paid based on your actual losses. There is no VCF payout chart for those losses because they are unique in every case.

There is a VCF payout chart for non-economic losses. These are sometimes called pain and suffering losses because they attempt to capture the impact of your injuries on your quality of life rather than your bank account.

The chart for non-economic losses first looks at whether the victim died from their covered condition. Claims filed for deceased victims receive $250,000 in non-economic loss plus $100,000 for a spouse and each dependent.

The second factor depends on whether the covered condition involves cancer. Non-cancer conditions have a cap of $90,000 in non-economic losses. Thus, the VCF payouts for sleep apnea caused by 9/11-related respiratory problems would max out at $90,000.

VCF cancer payouts have a cap of $250,000. The type of cancer and even the number of cancers do not matter. Thus, the non-economic VCF payout for skin cancer has the same cap as the non-economic VCF payout for prostate cancer. Remember that the $250,000 cap only applies to non-economic losses. These victims will also have income losses and medical costs for amounts paid for surgery and other treatments.

An administrator can exceed the soft caps when fairness dictates. However, this situation is rare. On the low end of the scale, all non-economic loss payouts start at $10,000.

Learn More From ConsumerShield

The government set aside money for 9/11 victims, and you should get the full amount the law allows for your condition. ConsumerShield helps you understand your rights and connect with a lawyer to represent you. Contact us for a free case evaluation.

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Sarah Edwards

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Sarah Edwards is a seasoned legal writer with more than a decade of experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • The payout for GERD depends on the cause of the condition. If you have GERD because you are undergoing chemotherapy for a covered cancer, VCF caps your non-economic compensation at $250,000. If you have GERD without any other covered condition, your non-economic loss is capped at $90,000.

  • There is very little data about average payouts because a victim’s compensation depends on their condition. However, a report from 2003 found that the average award for death claims was $1.44 million and that injury claims ranged from $500 to $6.8 million.

  • The government has an online portal for filing and tracking VCF claims. It also has a guide to the VCF claim status timeline that explains what happens at each step.

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