Bills Help First Responders Injured, Killed in Line of Duty

Washington, DC (WorkersCompensation.com) – Bills passed at the federal and state level over the past months continue to further the protections for first responders.   

On Aug. 16, President Joe Biden signed the Public Safety Officer Support Act into law, the same day he signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law.   

The bill expands the coverage of the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program to include police officers who are permanently or totally disabled due to mental health disorders, or who die by suicide as a result of exposure to traumatic events they encounter in the line of duty.   

“Every day, public safety officers across the country put themselves in harm’s way to respond to some of the most difficult and traumatic moments that our communities face,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. “The Justice Department welcomes the passage of the Public Safety Officer Support Act of 2022, which will enable us to provide support to the families of fallen officers who have died by suicide and to officers who have suffered debilitating trauma-related mental health injuries.”  

The Justice Department oversees the Benefits program.   

The bill stems from the suicide death of Jeffery Smith, a police officer with the District of Columbia Police. Just nine days after the January 6 riot at the Capital, Smith took his own life. His wife, Erin Smith, said the incident changed him.   

Smith’s attorney, David P. Weber, said Erin Smith fought for more than a year for the city to rule that her husband’s death was due to actions in the line of duty. Testimony from the city’s former chief medical examiner and Smith’s autopsy showed Jeffrey Smith’s face was fractured from the beating he received during the riots.   

Bodycam video showed that Jeffrey Smith was roughed up by rioters inside the Capitol, NBC News said, with one of the rioters grabbing his baton. Later, he was hit in the head outside of the building when a rioter threw a metal pole at police officers.   

Smith was one of four law enforcement officers who took their own lives after the riots.   

But, because he died by suicide, benefits ended when he took his own life. Not only did Erin Smith lose her husband that day, but she lost her health insurance and most of the family’s income. Erin Smith said neither the department nor the city reached out to the family to either recognize the loss, or make any recognition of her husband’s actions to “save democracy” during the riots.   

"It's hurtful and it's sad that they can't even reach out to the widow of one of their own officers," Erin told NBC News.   

Erin Smith has pressured Congress to pass the bill for more than a year. She said the White House should have done more to draw attention to the bill.  

“This bill is not only for my husband but for all law enforcement and first responder families that have been tossed to the side because no one believed that their family members death was Line of Duty and caused by their job,” Smith said in a statement to NBC News. “I am disappointed to know that this bill will not be receiving the attention it deserves.”  

The law will expand benefits to family members of public safety officers and recognizes suicide as a line-of-duty death at the federal level. The bill was introduced by U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, in February.  

“This will ensure public safety officers experiencing PTSD and families coping with the tragic loss of a loved one to suicide can get the support they deserve,” Cornyn said in a statement at the time.  

In California earlier this month, legislative committees passed bills that would extend COVID-19 presumptions for another two years.   

Under A.B. 1751, employers would have 30 days to accept liability for COVID-19 claims filed by first responders, nurses and other health care workers. The bill would extend the date for COVID-19 provisions originally slated to expire at the end of the year to Jan. 1, 2025.   

That bill is in direct contrast to another bill passed out of committees, the California Workers’ Compensation Institute said in July.   

Under S. B. 1127, employers would have only 75 days to accept liability on claims for certain injuries presumed compensable, down from 90. The bill would also allow firefighters and police officer to receive up to 240 weeks of temporary disability benefits for presumptive cancer claims, up from the 104 compensable weeks of temporary disability available to other workers.   

CWCI was S.B. 1127 would lead to more litigation and delays on complex cases.  

“Provisional denials due to the inability to obtain necessary medical records, complete the medical-legal process, and other issues, including lack of cooperation with the investigation, will trigger more litigation as well as significant increases in allocated and unallocated loss adjustment expenses related to the investigation period,” CWCI said. 

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