Judge sets stage for trials over 9/11 illnesses, picks 12 responders to represent thousands
By David B. Caruso, APSaturday, February 20, 2010
Judge sets stage for trials over 9/11 illnesses
NEW YORK — A federal judge has set the stage for the first civil trials over illnesses caused by ash and dust from the World Trade Center following the terrorist attack.
More than 9,000 people who played a role in the ground zero recovery operation have filed lawsuits against New York City.
They say the city failed to give workers equipment to protect their lungs from the soot that blanketed the site.
The court on Friday picked 12 workers whose cases will go to trial first.
They include a firefighter who died of throat cancer and another who needed a lung transplant, and police officers and utility workers with asthma.
Lawyers for the city have argued that it made every effort to protect the thousands who worked at the site.
The trials are scheduled to start in May.
