9/11 Advocates Rip ME Finding On Cop's Death; Question Basis For Ruling It's Not WTC-Related

9/11 Advocates Rip ME Finding On Cop's Death; Question Basis For Ruling It's Not WTC-Related


Advocates for 9/11 first-responders Oct. 19 blasted the Chief Medical Examiner's determination that the death of an NYPD Detective who toiled at Ground Zero was not related to his 9/11 recovery work.

JAMES ZADROGA: A lung death at 34. Dr. Charles S. Hirsch contradicted a New Jersey doctor's finding last week that James Zadroga, who died in 2006 at age 34, was a casualty of that work. In a letter to Detective Zadroga's father, Dr. Hirsch stated that the material in his lungs that led to his illness and eventual death did not come from the World Trade Center site.

Mayor: Still Committed

"The Office of Chief Medical Examiner is an independent office whose staff make their judgments based on the medical evidence," Mayor Bloomberg said in a statement. "Their determination in this case does nothing to change New York City's commitment to make sure that all who were affected by 9/11 get the health care they need. Just last month, we expanded the free, high-quality health services at the WTC Environmental Health Center at Bellevue Hospital - a Center of Excellence - to two new expansion sites. We will continue to push Congress to provide the Federal funding we need to care for those who are sick or may become sick and to expand research that will help to better understand the health impacts of the attacks, as well as re-open the Victim's Compensation Fund."

DR. CHARLES HIRSCH: Conclusion stirs furor. Detectives Endowment Association President Michael J. Palladino questioned the validity and the timing of the Medical Examiner's findings, noting that the city has been hit with several class-action lawsuits concerning 9/11-related illnesses and injuries.

"Doctors have opinions and they can agree to disagree, but I don't quite understand how Dr. Hirsch can come to such a definitive conclusion when he never examined Zadroga's body nor participated in the autopsy," he said. "I think the most important thing is that the Police Department's Medical Board had deemed Det. Zadroga ill and later on disabled as a result of his assignment at Ground Zero."

'A Political Finding'

Uniformed FDNY Emergency Medical Service Retirees Association President Marianne Pizzitola, who advocates for EMS retirees with 9/11-related injuries, believed the findings were politically motivated.

MICHAEL PALLADINO: 'Never examined the body.' "This is just another example of how a political appointee can make a determination that is in line with the City Hall message that we are not sick or dying from 9/11," she said in an e-mail. "How can Hirsch say that after working over 450 hours at the toxic WTC site, that the pulverized concrete, fiberglass, and chemicals embedded in Officer Zadroga's lungs did not cause scarring and lead to his death?"

A New Jersey's coroner's report last year stated "with a reasonable degree of medical certainty that the cause of death in this case was directly related to the 9/11 incident."

Mr. Zadroga's family could not be reached for comment.

'Stunning and Strange'

"The fact they don't even say this was a contributory factor is just strange," said Joel Shufro, the executive director of the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health. "I don't know what they are basing their determination on, but it's stunning. It feels like a blow to the jaw."

A trio of New York Members of Congress introduced a bill this year that would secure funding for medical monitoring and treatment for people suffering 9/11-related illness called the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. One of the sponsors of the bill, U.S. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, said Dr. Hirsch owed the Zadroga family an explanation.

"If the Medical Examiner is so certain that the material in Mr. Zadroga's lungs was not a result of his exposure to Ground Zero toxins, then it's incumbent upon him to tell Mr. Zadroga's family where he thinks it did come from, and why he thinks Mr. Zadroga's WTC exposures did not contribute to his death," she said in a statement.

Ms. Pizzitola maintained that the evidence was clear that Mr. Zadroga died due to his hours working at Ground Zero.

"City Hall needs a dose of reality, as no rescuer in New York had any of these types of medical problems pre-9/11, but they all have the same or similar problems post-9/11," Ms. Pizzitola said. "Coincidence? I think not."