Death claims involving people sickened by 9/11-related illnesses have surpassed 10,000, marking a grim milestone as cancer cases tied to exposure to toxic dust continue to rise, The Post has learned.
According to an October report from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, 10,029 claims have been filed for deceased people who suffered from illnesses linked to the attacks. That represents a 1,544% increase from the 610 such claims recorded at the end of 2015.
“That’s an amazing, horrifying and heartbreaking statistic,” said attorney Michael Barasch, who represents about half of all 9/11 claimants. “But I have to tell you that number is likely thousands more.”
As of November, the federal fund had approved 6,397 awards for deceased claimants, including 5,997 cases involving cancer, according to the data. Cancer was cited in 93% of all decisions involving deceased claimants.
The difference between the number of claims filed and awards approved reflects a lengthy review process that can take more than a year, Barasch said.
Barasch’s firm is handling nearly 2,000 cases that are “trapped somewhere between the courthouse and the federal claims system,” according to the firm. Claims filed on behalf of a deceased person’s estate must first be approved by surrogate’s courts, a process that can also take more than a year.
“I speak to people every day, and it’s shocking to me how many people still don’t realize that they are eligible,” said Barasch, who worked in the contaminated area and was later diagnosed with 9/11-related prostate cancer.
Thousands of emergency workers took part in recovery operations at Ground Zero after the attacks. Hundreds of thousands of others lived or continued working nearby after the EPA declared New York City’s air safe to breathe, Barasch said.
People exposed to the toxic dust and debris may be eligible for financial assistance and health care through the Zadroga Health and Compensation Act, which became law in 2010.
Former Manhattan Family Court clerk Christine Sakoutis had just arrived in the city from Staten Island when the first plane struck that morning.
The 63-year-old, who receives benefits through the program, said she ran toward the towers.
“When the first building fell, there was this big cloud,” she said. “It was very black and you couldn’t breathe.”
Sakoutis said she worked for 10 days, first helping at the pile and later assisting at a nearby aid center. The following year, the court system and her union honored her for her heroism.
But in 2017, she became seriously ill.
“I went to the doctor,” she said. “They found a spot and I ended up with 9/11 lung cancer.”
Doctors removed the tumor and treated her with chemotherapy. She has remained nearly cancer-free since then.
“I’m exceedingly lucky,” said the Staten Island resident. “They caught my cancer early so it was curable.”
Doug Mandelkow’s father, FDNY fire inspector James Mandelkow, died of esophageal cancer in 2013, six months after his diagnosis.
After the attack, his father worked at a phone bank in Lower Manhattan, calling the families of FDNY members to give them information about their loved ones during the recovery effort.
When James Mandelkow was diagnosed with cancer, he initially hesitated to seek benefits from the fund because he had not worked directly on the pile, his son said.
“He was working wrongfully under the assumption that it was only the pile that mattered,” his son recalled. “At the end of the day, he acknowledged that the whole area was sick.”
James Mandelkow was only 54 when he died.
“The fact that that number is unfortunately going up every year is heartbreaking,” his son said. “The best thing would have been to be honest and up front about it that the air was toxic in 2001, but that’s not the reality.”