Possible new settlement for 9/11 responders

By DAVID B. CARUSO Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - Lawyers are proposing a new settlement for thousands of ground zero workers suing New York City over their exposure to toxic dust from the World Trade Center.

Lawyers representing about 10,000 workers are going before a federal judge Thursday. They are expected to present a possible deal to revise a settlement the judge originally rejected.

The two sides have been renegotiating the package in recent months.

The amount of the new settlement wasn't immediately available.

The original settlement was between $575 million and $657 million. In March, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein criticized it as too rich for the lawyers and too stingy for the most seriously ill responders.