John Sparling, a partner in the firm's NY office, attended the celebration event in Congress on January 25, 2011 in Washington DC that marked the passage of the James Zadroga WTC Health Care Bill. The bill, while providing healthcare to first responders of the 9/11 disaster, also reopened the Victims' Compensation Fund providing over $2.3 billion to satisfy claims that could have been brought against the Contractors that responded to clean up the City in its moment of need. The bill also provides a cap on the liability of the Contractors for current and future claims.
Partners John Sparling and senior associate Christopher Ruggiero headed up the team defending client Turner Construction Company in over 10,000 lawsuits surrounding the cleanup and protection of the World Trade Center disaster following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. John and his team worked closely with Turner, lobbyists and Congress to effectuate the passage of the Zadroga bill that includes the limitation of liability to protect against the thousands of current and future lawsuits.
Some of the key dignataries attending the event included United States Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand (shown in photo), Representatives Nancy Pelosi (former Speaker of the House), Carolyn Maloney, Jerrold Nadler, Peter King, Joseph Crowley, and Charles Rangel.