Workers agree 9/11 clean-up compensation

More than 95% of the workers who were exposed to hazardous materials during the clean-up in the wake of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, US have 'opted-in' to a compensation package. The payments are the result of a class action lawsuit brought by 15347 people claiming exposure to hazardous material during the work.

The US Congress took out a US$ 1 billion captive insurance policy to protect the City of New York and its contractors from liabilities incurred in the clean-up work, known as WTC Captive. The settlement was proposed in March 2010, and a key criteria of its acceptance was that at least 95% of plaintiffs had to agree to it.

Average payments per person will be about US$ 42800. The group receiving comprises 9232 people directly exposed and 6115 secondary claimants such as spouses. The total settlement will be US$ 658 million.

Bovis Lend Lease was one of the companies involved in clean-up operations, and some of its workers will receive compensation. Commenting on the settlement, Lend Lease group CEO and managing director Steve McCann said, "Lend Lease is proud of the contribution of Bovis Lend Lease as one of the first responders to assist post the 9/11 tragedy. It is pleasing that this matter has progressed to a point now where we can be confident that any affected worker will have access to compensation without financial exposure (beyond insurance) to Lend Lease."