Letter to the New York Workers' Compensation Board - The Lakeman Family Deserves To Have Long-Delayed 9/11 Hero Benefits Reviewed And Approved By The Workers Compensation Board ?

Letter

I write today in support of Audra Lakeman of Lockport, New York, who is fighting for recognition of her late husband's service to his country on September 11, 2001. New York State Trooper Lawrence W. Lakeman was among as many as 4,000 members of the State Police who were sent to Manhattan in the wake of the attack on the World Trade Center. Lawrence worked at Ground Zero from September until December 2001, yet due to understandable delay in filing, the Workers Compensation Board has denied death benefits for his widow in connection with his service. Because pancreatic cancer was not recognized as a 9/11-related illness until 2014, Audra Lakeman had no way of knowing she ought to file a claim, which she did less than 18 months later in August of 2015. This ought not be categorically unqualifying, especially when the underlying facts of the case are clear and compelling, like they are for Trooper Lakeman. I strongly urge the Board to promptly review the application and approve it.

In 2006, Lakeman fell ill as a result of his exposure to toxins at Ground Zero and related sites. Less than two years later, he died of pancreatic cancer. During his illness and treatments, Lakeman continued to work as a New York State Trooper, trying to keep his family financially stable. Neither Lakeman nor his now-widow could have known they might be eligible for survivors' benefits until 2015. Due to this lapse, Audra is still waiting for 9/11 victims compensation from New York State. The New York State Police have recognized that Lakeman's illness and death were 9/11-related and his family will receive payment from the federal Victims Compensation Fund. However, that Audra is still waiting for action from the New York State Workers' Compensation Board, is unjust and unacceptable. I am sensitive to the process and know that it plays a vital role in the coherent administration of programs, but that need must be weighed against the goal of fairness and justice. This program was for the victims of 9/11, like that of Trooper Lakeman, who answered the call and died as a result.

The bottom line is that Trooper Lakeman lost his life due to this service, and his widow and children deserve to be compensated fairly. I hope you will find a quick resolution to this issue so that Lawrence Lakeman's family can find some peace and a measure of justice from a grateful state and nation.

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