Pennsylvania woman fighting for benefits after 9/11 victims fund claim denied
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A woman who lives in Ambridge who was working in the World Trade Center in New York City on 9/11 has been denied compensation by a fund set up to help the families of victims and survivors.
Joyce Ceasar was on the 36th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center when the world was about to change forever.
"At approximately 8:45, the first plane hit the North Tower," Ceasar said. "We smelled the jet fuel coming in through the vents."
Although the PA system told workers to remain in place, Ceasar and her co-workers immediately descended the crowded stairway to street level, where she looked up to see people leaping from the North Tower.
"You saw them on the ledge and they just plummeted down," Ceasar said.
In the years that have passed, the emotional trauma is recurring. At the same time, she has experienced a host of physical infirmities. She's on oxygen for respiratory problems, had open heart surgery and has been diagnosed with melanoma.
And yet, her claim for compensation has been denied by the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.
"I feel it's an injustice," Ceasar said. "We didn't ask for this to happen. It happened and you're denying the compensation."
The original compensation fund closed after paying out $7 billion to the families of victims and survivors injured that day. But it was reopened in large part to compensate workers who became ill breathing toxic fumes clearing the site but covers survivors who have since developed related medical conditions.
But her denial is a mystery.
She has been designated as an eligible survivor by the World Trade Center Health Program, which is covering at least some of her medical costs. However, the victim's fund has rejected her claim for financial help.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Ceasar and others naturally fled to safety. But in a letter, a law firm representing her says this is why her claim has been rejected: "Because you were not within the VCF's designated exposure zone for the required minimum number of hours."
The law firm did not return phone calls, but the VCF website states there is no minimum, and while a spokesperson said she could not discuss specific cases, she sent me a statement saying: "It is correct that the VCF does not have a minimum amount of time that an individual needed to be present as an eligible location."
She noted that rejected claims can be appealed.
Forced out of her New York home by Superstorm Sandy, Ceasar and her husband Tim live in Ambridge with their rough collies Regina and Ember. She knows of others who have been denied and doesn't think it's right.
"I feel they just don't want to pay out for the people that not only were first responders but people that worked in the area, people who worked in the building," Ceasar said.
Ceasar says she will be appealing.