Amending Your VCF Personal Injury Claim: Here’s What You Need to Know

After you file your claim with the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF), you may discover additional information or evidence that you failed to submit with your claim. Or if you are already receiving benefits, you may have new losses or be diagnosed with a new 9/11-related condition. In situations like these and many others, the VCF allows claimants to amend their claims to give the VCF a fuller picture of the claimant’s situation and award the proper benefits. Below is an overview of VCF claim amendments for personal injury claims. For more information about any topic presented herein, please contact a 9/11 lawyer. 

When Can You Amend Your Claim?

If you have already filed a claim with the VCF, you may amend it if you meet one of the following circumstances: 

• The WTC Health Program certifies you for a new condition for which you were not previously certified or you are diagnosed with a new 9/11-related condition
• Your claim was denied because you did not respond to the VCF’s request for information and you are now able to provide said information 
• You need to add, change, or remove a Personal Representative on an existing claim
• Your condition worsens, resulting in additional losses for which you were not previously compensated
• You have new information in support of your claim that you did not previously submit to the VCF
• You have received an initial award determination on your claim and are seeking reimbursement for out-of-pocket medical expenses over $5,000
• You want to withdraw any portion of your claim
• You meet the criteria for the WTC Health Program Disability Evaluation Process and wish to be considered for that process
• You responded to a request for missing information after the deadline and the information you provided was not considered by the VCF when calculating your award

How to Amend Your Claim

If you submitted your claim online, amending it is fairly simple and can be done by logging into your account, selecting the item you want to amend, following the steps provided, and uploading any supporting documentation. If you submitted a hard copy claim form, you may make some types of amendments by submitting a cover letter requesting to amend your claim and providing the necessary documentation. For others, you will need to call the VCF helpline for instructions. 

How and When a Decision Will Be Made

The VCF’s top priority is to render decisions on claims that have not received any awards, which affects its review of amendments. If your claim is still under consideration, adding an amendment will not change your claim’s priority date. If you have already received compensation, the VCF will review incoming amendments in the order in which they are received rather than dating back to your original claim priority date. It is thus more beneficial for applicants to submit amendments while their claims are still under consideration.