New Cancer Allocation Neutral Protocol
I am writing to tell you of a new Allocation Neutral Protocol (“ANP”) – a new claims procedure – that the Allocation Neutral is putting in place in the WTC litigation. This ANP was agreed to by all parties after lengthy negotiations. Under this ANP, any plaintiff who is or was diagnosed with cancer between March 11, 2010, and the effective date of the Final Settlement Agreement (which we expect will be several weeks from now) may submit evidence of the cancer even though the medical records reflecting that diagnosis were created after the normal March 11th medical records deadline. As long as the diagnosis occurred after March 11th but before the effective date of the Final Settlement Agreement, the ANP allows the Allocation Neutral to accept the records.
Plaintiffs diagnosed with cancer by March 11, 2010, remain eligible for a cancer payment under the settlement. In addition, Plaintiffs diagnosed with a cancer after the effective date of the Final Settlement Agreement will be eligible to receive benefits under MetLife’s Cancer Insurance Policy, subject to its terms and conditions. Thus, this extension of the medical records deadline for cancer eliminates the gap in cancer compensation that currently exists for cancers diagnosed after the March 11th medical records deadline but before the Cancer Insurance Policy takes effect.
This change may add slightly to the number of opt-ins because some of the handful of people (we estimate fewer than 15) who have been diagnosed with cancer since March 11, 2010, have up to now been reluctant to opt in. With this ANP in place, we expect that most or all of them will opt in.
What effect will this have on your settlement? None, if you are in Tiers 1, 2 or 3. And, very little, if any, if you are in Tier 4 and don’t have cancer. We have calculated that the effect of this ANP on such Tier 4 plaintiffs’ recoveries will be negligible. In fact, this change may even result in a net gain to you if you have a Tier 4 injury. Why? Because the WTC Captive must add more money to the total settlement pool if 96% or more of the eligible plaintiffs opt in. In short, the ANP will confer a great benefit on those were or are diagnosed with cancer between March 11th and the effective date of the Final Settlement Agreement and will fairly reflect the gravity of their illness, but the ANP will either have a very small cost to other Tier 4 plaintiffs, or, if the number of opt-ins increase materially, may produce a small gain for them.
If you have any questions about the ANP, please call.
*This communication was approved by the Court Appointed Ethicist Professor Roy Simon*
