NYC: Sick Cop Who Died Not A 9/11 Victim

Medical Examiner Rules Detective Did Not Die From Exposure To Toxic Dust At Ground Zero

(CBS/AP)  The city medical examiner has ruled that the death of a retired police detective -- seen as one of the strongest cases to be linked to post-Sept. 11 illness -- was not caused by exposure to toxic dust while working at ground zero.

Dr. Charles Hirsch rejected a New Jersey medical examiner's ruling that 34-year-old James Zadroga's death was "directly related" to his work cleaning up the World Trade Center site. That ruling found that Zadroga died in January 2006 of sarcoidosis, a lung-scarring disease that deposits dangerous growths in the lungs.

After reviewing the autopsy report, Zadroga's medical records and slides of the detective's lung tissue, Hirsch concluded that the detective's death was not caused by exposure to dust, according to a letter addressed to Zadroga's family and obtained by The Associated Press.

"It is our unequivocal opinion, with certainty beyond doubt, that the foreign material in your son's lungs did not get there as the result of inhaling dust at the World Trade Center or elsewhere," said the letter, dated Tuesday and signed by Chief Medical Examiner Hirsch and Medical Examiner Michele Slone.

The letter did not elaborate. Hirsch spokeswoman Ellen Borakove declined to comment on the letter Thursday.

The detective's father, Joseph Zadroga, said he would meet Friday with officials at the medical examiner's office.

"It's shocking. ... How can they be so callous?" Joseph Zadroga said. He said his son developed a cough in the first weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks while logging hundreds of hours cleaning up the toxic site.

"He had the acid reflux. He had short-term memory loss. ... He was on strong medications for the pain in his lungs," Zadroga said.

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Read the story of NYPD Detective James Zadroga.

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Michael Palladino, president of James Zadroga's union, said he was shocked that Hirsch's office would express such certainty, "when in fact they can't tell me what he died from."

"I don't trust it," Palladino said. He suggested that the letter may be related to the city's defense in a federal lawsuit accusing it of failing to adequately protect workers at the site.

James Zadroga has become a symbol for the plight of ground zero workers whose health rapidly deteriorated in the months after their long days toiling in the rubble at ground zero. He spent 470 hours sifting through the smoldering ruins, and by the first anniversary of the attack was plagued by a constant cough.

His autopsy results were the first scientific evidence blaming a death directly on ground zero exposure. Lawmakers and health advocates regularly cite his case as a key example of post-Sept. 11 illness when lobbying for billions of dollars to fund research and continuing care.

His father has become a prominent advocate for sick ground zero workers, and he broke down in tears last year before a congressional panel convened to study Sept. 11 health.

Joseph Zadroga had asked Hirsch to review his son's case in a bid to be listed officially as a victim of the Sept. 11 attacks.

"That's an honor he deserves," Joseph Zadroga told CBSNews.com in June.

Hirsch this year ruled that a woman caught in the towers' collapse and who died five months later of lung disease could be added to the victims list.

That marked the first time a person who survived the towers' collapse but died later of health problems was added to the official death toll.

The Zadrogas seemed to have a good case for such a decision: An Ocean County, N.J., medical examiner ruled in early 2006 "with a reasonable degree of medical certainty" that the death of James Zadroga, of Little Egg Harbor, N.J., was directly related to cleanup work at the site.

U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney said in a statement that if Hirsch is certain that the material in James Zadroga's lungs is not caused by trade center exposure, "then it's incumbent upon the ME to tell Mr. Zadroga's family where it he thinks it did come from and why he thinks that Mr. Zadroga's WTC exposures did not contribute to his death."

[lisann326]

Well I certainly won''t be down there cleaning up if it ever happens again. The government does not take care of its people. Especially the tax paying ones. Look at the children''s insurance not passing. The VA hospitals are a joke. It is sad that we don''t trust the second examination. It is not money that is the issue here. The people no longer trust their government to have their best interests at heart anymore. This is sad for our nation of billionaires.

[flubberguts]

micherr said: "Everyone who had lost a loved one on 9/11 has been compensated...Now Mr.Zadroga father thinks he should be compensated for his lost...His son was well aware of the risk involved while working at ground zero...Now his dad wants the tax payer to foot the bill...I don''''t think so...I lost a father in a Highrise fire while trying to save lives, he was out of the building and made up his mind to enter... Should I be compensated after all it was his choice... "

No, he did not know about the danger because the EPA, under Christina Todd Whitman, lied and said the air was a-okay for breathing--that the air posed no risks to rescue workers whatsoever. That lie is the difference between Mr. Zadroga''a situation and your father''s. And it is a big difference.

The announcement that the air was fine came at a time when other scientific investigators were reporting the opposite, but the city had financial reasons to ignore them. The city, under the leadership of Rudy Giulianni, took the EPA''s statement as truth, ignoring all evidence to the contrary, and failed to provide any protection for the workers. Thus, the city did not do its duty to its citizens. This was par for the course for Giulianni, having also neglected for years the fact that his fire department and police department could not communicate with one another with their respective radios--a situation which did, in fact, lead to the unnecessary deaths of many firefighters and police officers.

[mother247-2009]

The father of this man is just trying to find out what happened to his son. This man was trying to help others. what if everyone had attitudes like some of you?? He was trying to help his fellow americans.

[funkiwiteboy]

The insurance companies are to blame...

[greeneyes222]

"His son was well aware of the risk involved while working at ground zero..."

This is patently untrue. Recent history is full of examples of things initially perceived to be safe but later proven to cause harm: DDT, various medicines, weapons from the first Gulf War, asbestos ... At the time they were introduced it was believed they were safe and it turned out they weren''t. Nobody knew what the effects of two collapsed and vaporized buildings would be.

As for this situation, the city medical examiner''s decision doesn''t carry much weight, simply because it''s rendered by the city medical examiner with no supporting evidence. I''m sure the family would accept the findings more easily if they had been rendered by an independent source, and not someone with a vested interest in denying claims the city would have to pay for. Having watched some of the previously mentioned carcinogens, etc., unfold, I wouldn''t accept this either. It smells more like an insurance scam than an honest attempt to understand what happened - and take care of those who served.

[thereis77]

Anyone who believes in the 911 scenario that is growing in popularity (inside job) must also believe that those responsible have people monitoring the comment sections of all the new websites, and posting comments to not only keep the separation going between "libs" and "cons" and "reps" and "dems", but to also keep others from researching for themselves what could have really happenned. To those people I say, I know some of you believe in what you are doing, carrying out a duty, that''s it right. But it isn''t. We all want the same thing, Peace, love, and prosperity for everyone who want those things for everyone. Our country is being taken from us from murderers and thieves in suits, period.

[zootallures2]

The victims just want money??? If they are dying, what are they going to do with it? I can''t believe what neo-con morons post here and stupid deniers will believe. 9/11 was an inside job. The United States, EU, Israel, and UK at this moment in time, are the present day Axis Powers of WWII. You are the bad guys.

[cryonbrian]

Americans always look for someone to blame! Its all about the MONEY! SAD!

[toldyouso21]

The doctor may have been giving the family an out by not declaring what he found. They may be embarrased in the long run. But the lawyer will still get his money.
Posted by DRTexas1 at 02:51 AM : Oct 19, 2007

Don''t believe everything you read and YES--"experts" lie all the time and yes--they DO often get caught doing it. Sarcardiosis is NOT lung cancer. It is not a disease one gets by smoking dope or anything like that. It is more like a autoimmune disease brought on by minute particles of debris that trigger a response. Autoimmune means your body starts attacking itself. The trigger can be anything but the cause is UNKNOWN and treatment usually targets, building up the immune system and decreasing whatever is scarring the lungs and spleen etc. If the person died of sarcoidiosis, (and the ME is not disputing that fact) then because the cause is unknown--the Dr cannot state he knows with certainty that it was not caused from the 9/11 bldg--unless he has evidence of scar tissue that is much older than the 9/11 incident. Even then, with a compromised immune system--helping at the 9/11 site could have been the death knell for this cop. The ME is out of order, and yes they do lie--I have worked with experts for the Pharm. industry, and they often go over and perfect the lies they intend to tell--by trying them out on other experts who challenge their version and help them fill in the loop holes. don''t be sooo naive.

[toldyouso21]

If the new Medical Examiner cannot track where the particulate in the cop''s lungs came from, nor can he identify all the materials that would have been a part of the debris--he cannot unequivocally say anything. This is a whitewash and now...someone should sue this medical examiner on behalf of the family--for opening his big fat azz mouth and inserting his entire dept. in it.

We need 9/11 to be resolved and one "expert" who disputes another is not definitive resolution. Not only do experts make mistakes--they often have agendas, work for people with other agendas. lie---and often are just flat out wrong. This little report should instigate a full investigation into the ME dept. including who this new expert is affiliated with and if he suddenly has large amts of unmarked bills in his freezer.

[myidoncbs]

waterandsand thinks "all these people with 9/11 cleanup illness are full of *****, just tryin to get a dime."

I bet that makes it A LOT EASIER for you to sleep at night, doesn''t it? Bush, Cheney, Brownie, Giuliani... they''re all "heroes", right? Their motives are "pure" and all they ever wanted to do was to "protect us", right?

The FACT is, after the towers came crashing down, fine particulate matter, consisting of countless unhealthy substances, covered the area. Condi Rice OKed Christine Todd Whitman''s (EPA) completely FALSE claim, that "the air is safe to breathe". Everyone who believed it and returned to their soot covered homes and offices will be paying the price for decades to come.

[briannorwood]

Dr. Charles Hirsch, don''t you realize that by your callous handling of this issue, you have disgraced yourself and your profession?

Shame, Shame, Shame on you!

[fibonacci_]

We were deceived. Can''t believe America re-elected Bush. It always has to be someone with some family connection these days.

[whatithink-2009]

All the money in the world for Iraq, none for America.

Does anyone still believe that this "War in Iraq" was worth it?

[waterandsand]

When you have thousands of people cleaning up an area chances are someones gonna get sick and die of something even if they had never participated in the cleanup. Guy prob just developed lung disease he would of gotten anyway. I think all these people with 9/11 cleanup illness are full of *****, just tryin to get a dime.

[barbaraf4]

Knowing that it would probably be contested in court; Do you honestly believe the doctor would make that claim if he didn''''t have the evidence to cover his butt?.......But the lawyer will still get his money.
Posted by DRTexas1
~~~
First of all, yes, I do honestly believe the evidence could have been, and probably was, tampered with. Exactly who has the most to gain from this finding? Certainly not the family (and usually a lawyer takes a contingency - no money, no fees). We have spent the past 8 years being told so many lies that we have become immune to them. A little healthy skepticism is your best bet. Dr. Charles Hirsch is on Haliburton''s payroll.

You may have heard the old saying, "I would rather die on my feet than to live on my knees." Stand up and open your eyes!

[missingamerica]

The doctor may have been giving the family an out by not declaring what he found. They may be embarrased in the long run.

Posted by DRTexas1 at 02:51 AM : Oct 19, 2007

I believe they call that "supposition and conjecture heavily laden with innuendo".

Any judge will find it suspect that a doctor who does not identify the substance(s) found is willing to categorically rule out almost three hundred floors of buildings containing - what?

Or did the NYC medical examiner''s office maintain a secret running inventory of the entire contents of the Twin Towers and Building 7?

If I were to resort to innuendo, I might suggest that the city medical examiner instead identified a hazardous substance that all NYC police officers were and are being exposed to in the normal course of their duties.

And so the medical examiner chose not to reveal the identity of that substance in order to shield the city from even greater financial liability than their dubious actions and decisions on 9/11 exposes them to.

[drtexas1]

Knowing that it would probably be contested in court; Do you honestly believe the doctor would make that claim if he didn''t have the evidence to cover his butt? If you look at how the statement was worded, it looks like the cop had maybe been doing something he shouldn''t have been.
The doctor may have been giving the family an out by not declaring what he found. They may be embarrased in the long run. But the lawyer will still get his money.

[truthspeake2]

Sounds like somebody has been bought and paid for...again!

[rfcnj68]

Let''s see a city paid official that says this mans death was not related to WTC cleanup, don''t know about you but smells of a cover-up. I am more likely to believe an independent autopsy over the first two, only because the ME from NJ maybe friends with the family and could have clouded his judgment.

The NYC ME absolutely don%u2019t trust even a little bit. This guy is being paid by the very government that is being sued so you know his opinion is bios. Besides how many doctors do you ever here say that beyond any doubt this is what caused this, they can%u2019t and most cases if their smart won%u2019t. This man even if there was an underlying aliment with all the dust and fumes that where being given off had to of been exposed to toxic leaves of different agents that helped to move things along.

This is not a political race or agenda this is about peoples lives stop messing around and just tell the truth.