NEW YORK MAYOR SAYS WTC CLAIMS COULD BANKRUPT CITY

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg said yesterday that the city could be driven into bankruptcy over the next 20 years as a result of personal-injury lawsuits filed by people who claim to have suffered long-term health problems from exposure to dust and debris during the clean-up of the destroyed World Trade Center. Mr Bloomberg made his comments during the first hearings held by the recently formed National Commission on Terrorist Attacks. He called on Congress to grant the city “retrospective indemnification” from personal-injury lawsuits tied to the eight-month clean-up effort, in which firemen and various city contractors allegedly developed respiratory problems from grit created from the collapse of the WTC’s twin towers and other adjacent structures. He noted that it took Congress a year to put insurance in place for the city and its contractors, and that the cover would not pay for any damages arising from related lawsuits. Mr Bloomberg also asked Congress to set up another insurance programme to provide cover for government agencies and private contractors through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.