Deal struck for ailing ground zero workers

The deal, which still must be approved by a judge and the workers themselves, would make the city and other companies represented by the insurer liable for a minimum of $575 million, with more money available to the sick if certain conditions are met.

Most if not all of the money would come out of a $1 billion grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the settlement “a fair and reasonable resolution to a complex set of circumstances.’’

Workers who wish to participate in the settlement would need to prove they had been at the World Trade Center site or other facilities that handled debris. They also would have to turn over medical records and provide other information aimed at weeding out fraudulent or dubious claims. For the settlement to be enforced, 95 percent of the workers would need to agree to be bound by its terms.

The agreement was reached with just two months to go until the first trials are to begin in the case. Thousands of police officers, firefighters, and construction workers who put in time at the 16-acre site in lower Manhattan had filed lawsuits against the city, claiming it sent them to ground zero without proper protective equipment.