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Lower Manhattan Residents, Workers Eligible For Free 9/11-Related Health Care

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A lawyer is calling for anyone who lived or worked in Lower Manhattan during the September 11th terror attacks to see if they are eligible to receive free health care for 9/11-related illnesses.

Since the benefits of the 9/11 Zadroga Act initially focused on first responders, attorney Michael Barasch says hundreds of thousands of people were left out.

He now represents a number of teachers from the 12 schools in the World Trade Center area, as well as a dozen people with cancer, who were children at the time of the attacks.

"First of all, they're kids -- they're now 28, 29, 30 years old.  A 28-year-old girl should not have breast cancer. A 29-year-old boy should not have colon cancer or bladder cancer," he tells WCBS 880's Rich Lamb.

Barasch urges anyone who lived or worked in the area to register and get examined to see if they are eligible for free health care and possible compensation.

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