9/11 Worker's Family Rejects Death Ruling
Fresh from ruling that World Trade Center dust did not kill a police detective, a medical examiner offered the man's relatives other reasons Friday for his death, an explanation the family found lacking, their lawyer said.
Chief Medical Examiner Charles Hirsch would not publicly elaborate on his findings in the death of 34-year-old James Zadroga's death, who had worked hundreds of hours in the toxic dust at ground zero after the Sept. 11 attacks, Hirsch's spokeswoman said. Hirsch asked the family not to disclose what he told them, said Michael Barasch, the Zadrogas' attorney.
"Dr. Hirsch felt that there were other reasons for Zadroga's death. The family disagrees with it. I disagree with it," Barasch said. The doctor "came up with reasons that were not acceptable to us," the attorney said.
Zadroga became gravely ill within four years of the attack, was relegated to a wheelchair and wound up taking a potent mixture of prescription drugs to treat his illness. He died last year of respiratory failure, and health care advocates have cited his death as a "sentinel case" - the first health-related casualty linked to ground zero, suggesting there would be more to follow.
Hirsch agreed with a New Jersey medical examiner's finding that there was foreign matter in Zadroga's lungs. The New Jersey medical examiner had said the granular material in his lungs was consistent with dust, but Hirsch emphatically ruled out environmental exposure as the cause.
Experts say that one alternate medical theory for foreign granular matter in the lungs is a history of intravenous drug injections. In 1981, Hirsch co-wrote a key medical paper on the subject.
Zadroga was taking intravenous painkillers and had taken steroids, all prescribed by doctors for his respiratory problems, before his death, Barasch said Friday. He never took drugs that were not prescribed for him, he added.
Zadroga spent 470 hours working in the smoking twin towers' rubble, using only a paper mask. He developed a cough within weeks and retired within three years.
He became the face of post-Sept. 11 illness after his death, galvanizing lawmakers and health care advocates to lobby for research and treatment for thousands who said the debris-filled air at ground zero made them sick.
"What was in his lungs was consistent with what was down at ground zero," said Michael Palladino, president of the Detectives' Endowment Association, Zadroga's union. "It just can't be a coincidence that this 34-year-old kid who was healthy prior to 9/11 became deathly ill post-9/11."
Palladino and others derided Hirsch's ruling Friday, saying his conclusions defied other experts who performed Zadroga's autopsy or treated him while he was alive. Palladino said a police medical board had concluded that Zadroga could leave his job on medical disability because of illness caused by his post-Sept. 11 work.
Zadroga's family, who had become public advocates for the health of ground zero workers, had asked Hirsch to review the case and officially add Zadroga's name to the Sept. 11 victims' toll. In May, the medical examiner added the first health-related casualty to the victims' list, a woman who died of a lung-scarring disease five months after she was caught in the dust cloud formed by the twin towers' collapse.
Gerard Breton, the New Jersey pathologist who performed Zadroga's autopsy, said that Zadroga had inflamed lung tissue, an enlarged heart and material that appeared to be dust in his lungs.
"It is felt with a reasonable degree of medical certainty that the cause of death in this case was directly related to the 9/11 incident," he wrote in March 2006. On Friday, he told The Associated Press, "I stick to that report." He declined further comment.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Chief Medical Examiner Charles Hirsch would not publicly elaborate on his findings in the death of 34-year-old James Zadroga's death, who had worked hundreds of hours in the toxic dust at ground zero after the Sept. 11 attacks, Hirsch's spokeswoman said. Hirsch asked the family not to disclose what he told them, said Michael Barasch, the Zadrogas' attorney.
"Dr. Hirsch felt that there were other reasons for Zadroga's death. The family disagrees with it. I disagree with it," Barasch said. The doctor "came up with reasons that were not acceptable to us," the attorney said.
Zadroga became gravely ill within four years of the attack, was relegated to a wheelchair and wound up taking a potent mixture of prescription drugs to treat his illness. He died last year of respiratory failure, and health care advocates have cited his death as a "sentinel case" - the first health-related casualty linked to ground zero, suggesting there would be more to follow.
Rejecting another medical examiner's autopsy, Hirsch said in a letter to Zadroga's family this week that his death was not caused by exposure to trade center dust.
Read the story of NYPD Detective James Zadroga.
Hirsch agreed with a New Jersey medical examiner's finding that there was foreign matter in Zadroga's lungs. The New Jersey medical examiner had said the granular material in his lungs was consistent with dust, but Hirsch emphatically ruled out environmental exposure as the cause.
Experts say that one alternate medical theory for foreign granular matter in the lungs is a history of intravenous drug injections. In 1981, Hirsch co-wrote a key medical paper on the subject.
Zadroga was taking intravenous painkillers and had taken steroids, all prescribed by doctors for his respiratory problems, before his death, Barasch said Friday. He never took drugs that were not prescribed for him, he added.
"If the drugs contributed to his death, it makes no difference as far as what our perspective is. He was taking all the medication for all the toxins he inhaled," Barasch said. "This was a squeaky clean New York City detective who was in tip-top shape."
Zadroga spent 470 hours working in the smoking twin towers' rubble, using only a paper mask. He developed a cough within weeks and retired within three years.
He became the face of post-Sept. 11 illness after his death, galvanizing lawmakers and health care advocates to lobby for research and treatment for thousands who said the debris-filled air at ground zero made them sick.
"What was in his lungs was consistent with what was down at ground zero," said Michael Palladino, president of the Detectives' Endowment Association, Zadroga's union. "It just can't be a coincidence that this 34-year-old kid who was healthy prior to 9/11 became deathly ill post-9/11."
Palladino and others derided Hirsch's ruling Friday, saying his conclusions defied other experts who performed Zadroga's autopsy or treated him while he was alive. Palladino said a police medical board had concluded that Zadroga could leave his job on medical disability because of illness caused by his post-Sept. 11 work.
Zadroga's family, who had become public advocates for the health of ground zero workers, had asked Hirsch to review the case and officially add Zadroga's name to the Sept. 11 victims' toll. In May, the medical examiner added the first health-related casualty to the victims' list, a woman who died of a lung-scarring disease five months after she was caught in the dust cloud formed by the twin towers' collapse.
Gerard Breton, the New Jersey pathologist who performed Zadroga's autopsy, said that Zadroga had inflamed lung tissue, an enlarged heart and material that appeared to be dust in his lungs.
"It is felt with a reasonable degree of medical certainty that the cause of death in this case was directly related to the 9/11 incident," he wrote in March 2006. On Friday, he told The Associated Press, "I stick to that report." He declined further comment.
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Please start taking your medications. The Pentagon is not "the most technologically advanced and most heavily defended building in the world". The building has never had anti-aircraft weapons (still doesn''t) and was well over 60 years old at the time of the attack. Passenger planes fly within 1/2 a mile of it every 3 minutes (ever heard of National Airport boy wonder?). There is no Sheraton Hotel across the street from the Pentagon,...ever heard of Arlington National Cemetery?
Remove the aluminum foil on your windows,take another pill and look a Goggle Earth.
INTELLIGENT people would be interested in knowing the TRUTH about what actually caused this man''s death. If it was 9/11, then we know we have to do more to protect the brave first responders in such emergencies. And, since we ALREADY know that Christine Todd Whitman, republican head of the EPA, said that Condo Rice ordered her to LIE about the air being safely breathable, we have a reason to believe that this is YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE of how Bush utterly failed to protect the nation he swore he would protect.
COMPASSIONATE people (excluding "compassionate conservatives") care about the family of one of the brave men who acted to save others on 9/11 and the days afterward. But the only thing today''s Repugnant Ones care about is THE MONEY! How dare his family expect ANYTHING in return for his life? We are all cannon fodder for the Repugnant death machine. We should be HAPPY about it!
The Repugnant One''s credo: No money for children''s healthcare, No money for dead firemen''s families, no money to care for disabled soldiers, ALL MONEY GOES FOR WAR!!!
Death is Life in BushWorld. Up is Down. Lies are Truth. This CAN NOT continue!
A paper mask is useless, a paper mask also is even more useless if the wearer has a mustaches or beard- James had both- they prevent a proper seal between the mask and the skin of the face, these masks typically don''t fit well anyway.
What he should have had was a respirator, a mask is for large particle nuisance dust such as cutting lumber on a table or skill saw, they were never designed to be used to filter toxins, smoke or fine concrete dust.
why were put options on United and American airlines through the roof in the week leading up to 9/11? why wasn''''t an SEC investigation automatically triggered?
why did Wirt Walker resign as head of security at the WTC on 9/10/01 ? (yes, the day before)
why was Larry Silverstein, who only owned the WTC for only 50 days prior to the "attacks" and recieved 7 billion $ in compensation, never questioned by the 9/11 commission?
why were the first had accounts of secondary explosions throughout all 3 WTC buildings by first responders completely ignored by the 9/11 commission?
why did the 9/11 commission fail to even mention the demolition of WTC7 in it''''s final report?
Zadroga was taking intravenous painkillers and had taken steroids, all prescribed by doctors for his respiratory problems, before his death, Barasch said Friday. He never took drugs that were not prescribed for him, he added.
Sounds like a right wing method to silence others could have easily been employed here in the manner the immoral republican party has used for years even though in the dark alleys they s*uck little boys *****. They might have smeared the memory of this man in this case insinuating this dead 34 year old died of intravenous drugs. Half truths as usual. He did use them but they were prescribed for his respiratory ailments. The fascists would gladly leave that part of the story out without oversight.
why did WTC7 fall at free fall speeds so neatly into it''''s own footprint?
why has the NIST refused to put out it''''s final report on WTC7?
here''''s why - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwSc7NPn8Ok
how did the steel frame structures of WTC 1 & 2 disintegrate at free fall speeds (exploding outward in a pyroclastic wave of pulverized concrete) if we are to believe the pancake theory ? why isn''''t the core standing?
watch the footage at about 3 minutes into this clip - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmmTtb7X9j8
how could the Pentagon (the most technologically advanced and most heavily defended building in the world) allow a relatively slow moving passenger jet to breach it''''s defense systems without getting a shot off?
why won''''t the FBI release the security tapes from the Sheraton across the street so we can all see what really hit the Pentagon?
what really hit the Pentagon? where''''s the plane? look for yourself!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flcqJrtHz3w
"I don''t know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don''t care. It''s not that important. It''s not our priority." - G.W. Bush, 3/13/02 ...
ask yourself the following-
why did WTC7 fall at free fall speeds so neatly into it''''s own footprint?
why has the NIST refused to put out it''''s final report on WTC7?
here''''s why - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwSc7NPn8
Ok
how did the steel frame structures of WTC 1 & 2 disintegrate at free fall speeds (exploding outward in a pyroclastic wave of pulverized concrete) if we are to believe the pancake theory ? why isn''''t the core standing?
watch the footage at about 3 minutes into this clip - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmmTtb7X9
j8
how could the Pentagon (the most technologically advanced and most heavily defended building in the world) allow a relatively slow moving passenger jet to breach it''''s defense systems without getting a shot off?
why won''''t the FBI release the security tapes from the Sheraton across the street so we can all see what really hit the Pentagon?
where''s the plane? look for yourself!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flcqJrtHz3w