Zadroga 9/11 Lawyer to Lecture at St. John's Law School on Eve of Triangle Fire 100th Anniversary

I will be giving my annual New York Workers’ Compensation Law lecture tomorrow night at St. John’s Law School at the invitation of Prof. David Gregory, one of the country’s preeminent labor law experts. 

This year my Workers’ Compensation Law lecture takes on particular significance as the this week marks the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire tragedy in lower Manhattan, which was the seminal event leading to the establishment of workers’ compensation laws throughout the country. 146 workers lost their lives either in the fire or jumping from the building.

As a former recipient of the Clara Lemlich Triangle Factory Fire Memorial Award, this important moment in labor history, along with the annual Triangle Dinner this Friday night at the Fire Museum of the City of New York, are close to my heart. I will certainly impress upon the law students the importance of understanding not only the "black letter" meaning of the New York workers’ compensation law, but also its historical context.

In a eeirly sad coincidence, it just so happens that this year is also the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Center Disaster.  It took 90 years for the WTC disaster to eclipse the Triangle Factory Fire as New York’s most deadly workplace accident.

We are still filing ongoing workers’ compensation claims for 9/11 victims, survivors and first responders. In addition, this year has brought the passage of the new James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010.   I will be sharing with the students facts about the new Zadroga 9/11 Act,  how to file a Zadroga Act claim, and what medical conditions are covered under the Zadroga Act.

Afterwards, the officers of the law school’s Labor & Employment Law Society ussually join Prof. Gregory and I for a good Italian meal in Queens, maybe at Uvarara. Looking forward to that! I will post my materials on this blog after the lecture.