Do You Know the Rule? Conn. Special Rules for Law Enforcement, Firefighters, Emergency Medical Personnel

Hartford, CT (WorkersCompensation.com) -- Under Connecticut law, as is the case in other states, special provisions apply for law enforcement, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel that create special provisions for compensation. Here's a highlight of those provisions.

Cancer

Under Connecticut law, there is a rebuttable presumption that a paid or volunteer firefighter diagnosed with cancer got the disease in the course of employment. To qualify for workers' compensation, the cancer must result in death, temporary, permanent total or partial disability and be a condition of cancer affecting the brain or skin, or any of the following systems: 1) skeletal; 2) digestive; 3) endocrine; 4) respiratory; 5) lymphatic; 6) reproductive; 7) hematological; or 8) urinary.

To rebut the presumption, clear and convincing evidence must be presented that the firefighter did not meet one of the qualifiying conditions.

Post-Traumatic Stress

Police officer, firefighters, and parole officers in Connecticut are entitled to workers' compensation benefits for work-related post-traumatic stress. Benefits include any combination of medical treatment prescribed by a board-certified psychiatrist or a licensed psychologist, temporary total and temporary partial to be provided for a maximum of 52 weeks from the date of diagnosis.

The state defines "qualifying event," which is required for coverage, as an event occuring in the line of duty in which a police officer, parole officer, or firefighter:

• Views a deceased minor
• Witnesses the death of a person or an accident involving the death of a person
• Witnesses an injury to a person who subsequently dies before or upon admission at a hospital as a result of the injury and not as a result of any other intervening cause
• Has physical contact with and treats an injured person who subsequently dies before or upon admission at a hospital as a result of the injury and not as a result of any other intervening cause
• Carries an injured person who subsequently dies before or upon admission at a hospital as a result of the injury and not as a result of any other intervening cause
• Witnesses a traumatic physical injury that results in the loss of a vital body part or a vital body function that results in permanent disfigurement of the victim

A diagnosis of post-traumatic stress is compensable if: 1) the post-traumatic stress resulted from the officer or firefighter acting in the line of duty; 2) a qualifying event was a substantial factor in causing the disorder; 3) the qualifying event, and not another event or source of stress, was the primary cause of the post-traumatic stress;and 4) the post-traumatic stress did not result from any disciplinary action, work evaluation, job transfer, layoff, demotion, promotion, termination, retirment, or similar action of the offficer or firefighter.

'In the Course of Employment'

For a police officer or firefighter in Connecticut, "in the course of emploment" encompasses the worker's departure from the worker's home to duty, the worker's duty, and the return to the worker's home after duty.

For an employee of the Department of Correction, when responding to a direct order to appear at a work assignment under circumstances in which nonessential employees are excused from working, or following two or more mandatory overtime work shifts on consecutive days, "in the course of employment" encompasses the worker's departure from the worker's home directly to duty, the worker's duty, and the return directly to the worker's home after duty.

Volunteer Firefighters & Ambulance Service Members

Active members of volunteer fire departments and active members of organizations certified as a volunteer ambulance service in accordance are considered to be employees of a municipality. If the volunteer is engaged in training or fire duty or ambulance service they will be compensated for death, disability, or injury incurred while in training or engaged in volunteer fire duty or ambulance service.

The average weekly wage of a volunteer firefighter or volunteer ambulance service member will be determined to be the average production wage in the state.

There is no prorating of compensation benefits because of other employment by a volunteer firefighter. 

Any condition of impairment of health occurring to an active member of a volunteer fire department or organization certified as a volunteer ambulance service while the volunteer is in training or engaged in volunteer fire duty or ambulance service, caused by hypertension or heart disease resulting in death or temporary or permanent total or partial disability, will be presumed to have been suffered in the line of duty and within the scope of his employment, provided that the person had successfully passed a physical examination by a licensed physician and did not show any prior condition.

Diseases

A uniformed member of a paid municipal or volunteer fire department, a regular member of a paid municipal police department or constable, or a member of a volunteer ambulance service shall be eligible for benefits for any disease arising out of and in the course of employment, including, but not limited to:

• Cardiac emergency
• Hypertension
• Heart disease
• Hepatitis
• Meningococcal meningitis
• Tuberculosis
• Kahler's Disease
• Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
• Prostate or testicular cancer

For the presumption to apply, the disease must result in death or temporary or permanent total or partial disability.

For more from Connecticut and the rest of the U.S., head to WorkCompResearch

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