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In 2026, Pitta & Baione LLP celebrates a milestone of 10 continuous years of advocacy, service, and accountability to the community. Our NYC-based law firm is dedicated to assisting those affected by the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center access their state and federal benefits through the WTCHP and 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. Pitta & Baione LLP pairs our advocacy for 9/11 victims with experience in personal injury law as well as our work protecting families with trusts and estates.
Why We Started: A Commitment Born from Service and Responsibility
Looking back on the last ten (10) years, our attorneys reflect on why we started this work and reaffirm our commitment to helping injured New Yorkers pursue justice.
Pitta & Baione LLP founding partner Vito R. Pitta explains the firm’s vision and moral obligation in representing clients:
“Having seen that both members of our first responder client unions and other workers and residents who were 9/11 victims were being marginalized, lied to, and reduced to cold statistics, we were motivated to launch this practice with a singular mission: to challenge government bureaucracy, to provide every one of our clients with the dignity and respect to which they were entitled, and to provide them with expert and results-driven legal representation.”
By assisting and ensuring those of our clients who worked and lived in lower Manhattan receive their 9/11 benefits for cancers and other chronic medical conditions caused by toxin exposure after the collapse of the World Trade Center, Pitta & Baione LLP has helped bridge the critical gaps in just compensation and medical services for those victims. Our attorneys and staff have seen firsthand the challenges that many 9/11 first and supporting responders, survivors, and their families have faced in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. We know all too well that sometimes, the difference between a loved one receiving necessary life-saving medical care and watching a loved one suffer terrible illness or death, comes down to missing required documentation,or the inability to effectively utilize the legal system, or because of bureaucratic red tape that leaves unrepresented New Yorkers to fend for themselves, unsuccessfully more often than not.
Pitta & Baione LLP fights every day to narrow that difference so as to ensure that no 9/11 survivor is left behind or left out of the systems created and intended to compensate, protect and serve them.
Mending the Gap in Care and Representation
Today, almost twenty five (25) years after the terrorist attacks, many of the initial challenges faced by 9/11 responders and survivors still haunt their families. Lack of documented presence in the exposure zone is one hurdle that many potential claimants face when it comes to entitlement for and receipt of benefits. Other first responders may have difficulty proving extended exposure on debris removal barges or complicating factors like environmental conditions at the time.
Missed deadlines, compounding health issues, or wrong medical diagnoses can also complicate the process for survivors. At inception of the program, a lack of clarity, access, and long-term accountability made the rollout of 9/11 benefits and health care coverage inaccessible to many who needed help.
With these factors in mind, the founding partners of Pitta & Baione LLP collaborated to build a practice centered on personalized representation and advocacy, not a volume-based law practice. Right from the start, our attorneys focused on the facts and specific circumstances of each and every case and were determined to find pathways for survivors to fill the gaps in their medical coverage.
Co-founding partners Vincent Pitta and Matthew Baione explain:
“We established Pitta & Baione, LLP, thinking solely about the devastated families we could help on a long-term basis not only to survive, but to also rebuild their lives. Our goal has always been to create something that outlasts us, and importantly that continues to serve the 9/11 community with integrity, for as long as there is a need.”
The Journey in Milestones: Ten Years of Progress in New York Personal Injury Law
Pitta & Baione LLP has made a name for itself among fellow New Yorkers and good lower Manhattan neighbors, in addition to being highly skilled experienced advocates in personal injury law. With over $650 million recovered for our clients over the past ten (10) years, we continue to remind the community that billions more dollars are available for 9/11 victims and their families with an eligible claim.
Early Advocacy and Building Trust
Some of the firm’s first cases revolved around establishing credibility in the 9/11 community. Some survivors may not know that they qualify for medical care through the WTCHP, let alone financial benefits from the VCF.
The WTCHP serves individuals who were present in the Exposure Zone during the days and months after September 11, 2001. The WTCHP provides no-cost medical monitoring and treatment for eligible first responders and their survivors. The VCF was established to help compensate for physical injury or death caused by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and the program allows individuals to register, even if they are not currently sick, so as to preserve their right to file a claim in the future.
Since 2011, over 150,000 people have enrolled in the WTCHP, including first and supporting responders and survivors. A potential claimant does not need a lawyer to apply for benefits from the VCF or the WTCHP. Notably however, informing the public of their right to file a claim and then helping them file those claims was an important part of our early advocacy, and continues to this day to be a significant part of our ongoing mission as 9/11 lawyers.
Expanding Impact Through Policy and Education in New York
Contemporaneous with our successful efforts on behalf of claimants, from inception the firm focused on engaging with legislation, public education, and media advocacy for the 9/11 community. While the James Zadroga Act established the initial round of survivor funding, our firm has made a point to stay on top of evolving legislation throughout the years as well.
We know that follow-up medical care is as much a priority as initial medical testing and assistance. Examples of continuing policy changes for which we lobbied with other 9/11 law firms and stakeholders, include the recent advocacy for lifetime funding pushed by New York Congress members, advocacy against the layoffs of and for the reinstatement of NIOSH workers, who are charged with the responsibility to certify qualifying WTCHP conditions; and for the 9/11 Worker Protection Task Force, which was signed into law in 2025 by New York State Governor Hochul.
Adaptable to Changes in Federal Programs Related to the VCF and the WTCHP
As the WTCHP and VCF programs have evolved, so too have our strategies to seek and obtain continuing medical coverage and payouts for our clients. In furtherance thereof, Pitta & Baione LLP has established the 9/11 Solidarity Network, helping union members, including members of Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association Local 831, to provide sworn affidavits as secondary evidence, when primary documentation of a claimant’s presence in the zone is unavailable.
Says founding partner Vito R. Pitta:
“Every file in our office represents a real person with real health concerns. That’s something we never lose sight of in our day-to-day work. When clients tell us they finally feel heard, that’s when we know we’re doing our job right.”
The Impact We’ve Made for 9/11 Responders and Their Families in New York
Securing Access to Care and Compensation
One of our principal duties is to help clients enroll, be certified for, and maintain their 9/11 benefits. Payouts can vary from the VCF, depending on factors like illness severity, number of conditions, and the functional impact of illness. We fight every day to help our clients be certified and receive the maximum benefits possible, as well as prevent the loss of future benefits for.
As Matthew Baione notes, “the impact we make isn’t just what we recover on paper. It’s whether someone gets the care they need without the fear of losing it tomorrow.”
Fighting for Long-Term Stability
9/11 benefits have come under political fire in recent years. Our attorneys are actively engaged in advocacy for lifetime coverage. Recently, partner Matthew Baione accompanied Congressmember Andrew Garbarino and Thomas Hart, President of Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act and President of Local 94 International Union of Operating Engineers, at the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act’s introductory press conference held on February 26, 2025. We routinely make outreach efforts to notify clients of their qualifying benefits, as well as advocating to expand qualifying conditions.
Examples of recent legislative wins include:
- Civil Service Exam Benefits for Families of Sanitation Workers (A.2123A/S.1165-A, “The Ignizio Giacolone Act”)
- Expansion of the 9/11 Worker Protection Task Force (A.8417/S.8181)
- Streamlined World Trade Center Disability and Death Benefits (S.4554A/A.5458-A)
- Support for Surviving Spouses (S.8024B/A.8645-A)
- Alternative Method to Compromising an VCF Award under the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (A.7425/S.6810)
- Allowing a Personal Representative of the Estate of a Victim of 9/11 to File a Claim with the VCF (A.7426/S.6812)
The People Behind the Work
In addition to our work as 9/11 lawyers, Pitta & Baione LLP also offers legal services in the areas of personal injury, trusts, and estates.
A Team Built on Purpose, Not Titles
At Pitta & Baione LLP, our attorneys, and staff all work collaboratively together with a common goal–to be the best we can be for our clients, and to get them the best results. We offer free claim evaluations to all of our prospective clients and we stay engaged with them to assess their eligibility for benefits.
Supporting Families Beyond the Claim
Pitta & Baione LLP offers personal injury representation and fights for our clients to receive the maximum settlement possible. We also offer legal advice as to trusts and estates, and estate planning for affected families. These services can help surviving spouses and children of 9/11 victims ensure that VCF benefits remain in the family, as well as structure continuing care on the survivors’ own terms.
Partner, Yan Lian Kuang-Maoga reflects on the client relationships Pitta Baione, LLP has built over the years:
“A continuity of care means staying involved, not just at the beginning of a claim, but throughout the entirety of it. Many of our clients come to us confused, overwhelmed, and scared. Building their trust starts with listening to them.”
What Ten Years’ Experience Has Taught Us About Advocacy and Accountability
At Pitta & Baione LLP, listening is a core value of ours. We have taken the time to build our community’s trust over the past ten years, and we don’t take for granted the value of strong solidarity networks, word-of-mouth referrals, to which we attribute our 5-star client rating.
How We’ve Evolved, and Where We’re Going Next
Matthew Baione notes that “our commitment going forward is simple: to adapt, to advocate, and to never let our clients fall through the cracks.”
New challenges include changing state priorities, adjustments to qualifying WTC health program conditions, and even simply passing time. At Pitta & Baione LLP, our lawyers adapt to these hurdles by staying proactive, instead of reactive. We urge you to reach out to us today to ascertain if you qualify for 9/11 benefits through the VCF or other similar or complimentary assistance program.
Renewing the Commitment for the Next Decade
When we look forward to what is to come, Pitta & Baione LLP promises continued expert advocacy, as well as enhanced community outreach and education that works for our clients. We will continue to institute and support increased educational and awareness initiatives and lobby for needed legislative action, as we work within the existing system, all to maximize and maintain compensation for our clients.
Pitta & Baione LLP Celebrates Its Tenth Anniversary with an Eye Toward the Future
Celebrating this ten (10) year milestone is an opportunity for our firm to reaffirm our commitment to the 9/1 community. Learn more about how Pitta & Baione LLP might help you and your family understand your legal rights and your entitlement to fair compensation. We urge you to contact our office today for a free consultation today.
