THE METLIFE CANCER POLICY IS A UNIQUE INSURANCE BENEFIT
The MetLife Cancer Policy that is part of the settlement package for all plaintiffs who opt in is a new and unique type of insurance policy designed specifically for the plaintiffs in the In re: World Trade Center Disaster Site Litigation. The purpose of the policy is to provide additional monetary assistance to plaintiffs who later develop certain cancers that may be related to their Ground Zero exposures.
Some clients are worried that the $100,000 Met Life Cancer Policy will not be sufficient to pay their medical expenses if they develop cancer in the future. That should not be a concern. For most people, their private medical insurance from employers or unions or the WTC screening program will provide medical monitoring and care. The Met Life Cancer Insurance Policy is not meant to provide medical insurance or to support you for the rest of your life if cancer occurs. It is there to provide some protection, comfort and peace of mind that you will receive additional compensation if you develop one of the covered cancers in the future. Notably, moreover, the premiums for the policy are paid by the WTC Captive Insurance Co., Inc. The money you receive from MetLife under the policy can be used to pay some of the incidental bills or expenses that may arise in the future should you be diagnosed with one of the cancers covered by the policy.
Cancers covered by the policy include those that are most likely to be caused by exposures during the rescue, recovery and debris removal operations. The money you receive under the policy may be spent on anything you wish. The MetLife policy offers you assurance that if you settle now (instead of waiting for years to see if you become ill), you will obtain some additional compensation for your illness.
As we have advised many of our clients currently suffering from blood cancers and other cancers, one of the major challenges in this litigation is the difficulty we will encounter if we have to prove in court that a client’s cancer was caused by toxic exposures suffered while working in or near the World Trade Center and related sites. Because so few established medical studies (sometimes none) prove the link between World Trade Center site exposures and the cancers we are seeing among our clients, proving these claims at trial will be very difficult. Indeed, getting to trial at all will be difficult, because the Judge may dismiss your case altogether unless he is satisfied that you can present scientifically supported expert testimony at trial linking your cancer to the WTC exposures.
By contrast, the MetLife policy does not require a policyholder to prove that the cancers covered by the policy were caused by WTC exposure. All that a policyholder will need to show to collect under the policy is a valid medical diagnosis of one of the covered cancers. However, if the November 8th deadline passes before you opt in, you will miss this unique opportunity to enroll in a policy that has never before been offered as a benefit under a settlement.
This communication was reviewed and approved by court-appointed legal ethicist Professor Roy Simon.
