NEW YORK, NY May 19, 2006 —Advocates hope the Bloomberg administration will fight fewer worker-compensation claims for 9/11-related health problems . . . after the mayor halted a challenge to a court-award for a former aide to Rudy Giuliani.

Former Deputy Mayor Rudy Washington was among the first to the collapsed towers and was there often in the weeks and months following the attacks. Now, he has severe respiratory problems. Washington won a workers compensation claim earlier this year, but City lawyers filed an appeal, saying he had not submitted his claim in time.

Under state law, such requests must be made within two years from the time a worker knows - or should know - he has a workplace-related illness. That leaves room for interpretation - and legal challenges, like the one Washington faced from the city.

After the story became public, Bloomberg said Washington should not have his claim withheld over "a technicality". With the appeal dropped, lawyers for other claimants are likely to point to Washington's case, even though it has no weight as a precedent. Bloomberg says each will have to be evaluated individually.