Metro

Judge OKs new deal for sick 9/11 crews

The judge who angrily shot down a $657 million settlement for injured Ground Zero workers as “not enough” signed off on a new deal yesterday — after the plaintiffs’ lawyers, the city and its insurer sweetened the pot to $712.5 million.

“There is no better deal,” said Manhattan federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein. “This is the deal that people have to decide to accept or reject.”

While conceding that the proposal was “not perfect,” Hellerstein urged the 10,000-plus plaintiffs sickened by toxic fumes and debris to sign on.

“What’s good should not be defeated by what’s possible,” he said. “It’s time that this lawsuit ended. [This agreement could] mend a terrible tear in the social fabric of this country.”

The new deal includes:

* Concessions by the plaintiffs’ lawyers to reduce their contingency fees from 33 to 25 percent, potentially putting more than $50 million in their clients’ pockets.

* The city’s insurer, the WTC Captive Insurance Co., agreed to kick in an extra $50 million to $55 million in compensation.

* And the city itself said it would forgo seeking reimbursement of $20 million to $25 million in worker’s-comp payments.

Kenneth Feinberg, who oversaw distribution of the feds’ 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund, would serve as final arbiter of payouts, which could range from $3,250 to $1.8 million, depending on the injury.

Feinberg urged everyone eligible “to file a claim and participate in this compensation program.”

“What is the alternative?” he asked. “To wait? You’re waiting for Godot.”

The Garretson Firm Resolution Group and a medical panel would review individual claims and decide how much to award, and Feinberg would handle appeals and issue binding decisions on adjustments.

After a June 23 public hearing, individual plaintiffs would have until Sept. 30 to accept or reject it. At least 95 percent of the plaintiffs would have to opt in for the deal to go through, with the payout dependent on how many participate.

The Port Authority and the firms that took World Trade Center debris to the Fresh Kills landfill and oversaw recovery operations there remain holdouts. Hellerstein urged them to join in to help end litigation that’s dragged on for seven years.

Ironworker Joe Picurro, who spent 28 days working on the Ground Zero pile, said he was just told by his doctor that he might die in six months from a host of diseases that have ravaged his lungs. A settlement can’t come too quickly, he said.

“What I want to do is get all my things settled, pay all my bills and buy a house for my wife and daughter. My biggest worry is to leave them homeless and broke,” he said from his Toms River, NJ, home, where a hospice bed has been set up in his living room.

Several others reserved judgment until they’ve reviewed the proposal, particularly how it would affect first responders diagnosed with cancer.

“I’ll wait and see what it is and talk it over with our family adviser before we make a decision,” said John Walcott, an NYPD detective diagnosed with leukemia after working at Ground Zero.

“If he thinks it’s the best thing for my family, then we’ll accept it. If not, we’ll move to trial.”

bruce.golding@nypost.com