It was recently determined by an appellate court that a firefighter in Illinois is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits for his post-traumatic stress disorder, which developed after he witnessed a horrific death of one of his co-workers in a fire.

Scott Moran had been working as a firefighter since 1986 and became a lieutenant/paramedic in 2006. On March 20, 2010 there was a house fire, and when he got to the scene he was put in command of the scene since he was the highest ranked officer present at the scene at the time. He told one firefighter, Christopher Kieta, to take the fire hose and go inside. Another firefighter, Brian Carey went with him. There was a flash out of the back of the house and Kieta came out of the building, without Carey. Carey had to be taken out of the house by other firefighters and was transported to the hospital; but he died of injuries he sustained.

Chief Robert Grabowski was at the scene, arriving after Carey was taken to the hospital. He testified that it was a very small department and they had never had to use their “Emergency Operation Plan” before, which means neighboring fire departments would provide coverage for the department for a short time while the department recuperated, but even so Grabowski was worried that some firefighters close to Carey would have a difficult time. Grabowski told Moran that he could not return to work until he was cleared by a psychiatrist.

Moran went to see the employer selected psychologist, Dr. McManus, however he was not able to secure an appointment with him until April 23^rd, about a month after the fire. He told the doctor he was frustrated with the referral process since it had taken so long. He told the doctor he felt guilty since he was the supervisor of the fire at the time, said he had been having trouble sleeping and connecting with his co-workers and members of his family. He was initially diagnosed with acute stress disorder and then PTSD on May 5^th. Moran continued to work with Dr. McManus and he was declared fit for work on June 14^th as long as he kept up treatment.

Moran did not return to work until the end of October and he was released from treatment with Dr. McManus in December. He went back, however, in January of 2011 saying that he was experiencing flashbacks and triggers and Dr. McManus tried to teach him some exercises to control the cues. Dr. McManus thought he was functioning much better than before though he may always have some flashbacks or thoughts about the event.

An arbitrator said he did not sustain an accidental injury that arose out of the course and scope of his employment; he did not sustain a physical injury, was not involved in rescuing him and did not actually witness Carey’s death. The arbitrator said that it was not unusual for a traffic death to occur in this line of work. The workers’ compensation commission agreed and struck down his claim as well. He appealed, and the Illinois Appellate Court overturned earlier decisions. The court decided that just because he was outside the house and not inside when the accident happened did not make the scene any less traumatic. He had never experienced the death of a co-worker. They also said that his employer must have recognized the gravity of the incident and the impact it would have on the department, because they did not allow any of the firefighters to return without a psychiatric evaluation.