Currently there are 32 states that recognize PTSD as a workers’ compensation eligible condition for first responders, Connecticut is not one of those states.

Norwalk Police Department Union President Sgt. David Orr as well as NPD Officer Carl Williams gathered with state legislators and police union representatives from around the state in Hartford last week to express their support for a proposed legislation that will add Connecticut to the list to include PTSD as a workers’ compensation compensable benefit.

The purpose of the proposed State Senate bill in question is: “To expand workers’ compensation coverage to individuals suffering from a severe mental or emotional impairment as a direct result of witnessing the death or maiming of another human being whose death or maiming was caused by an act of violence of another human being.”

“To use Sandy Hook as an example, the initial responders there had to use their regular contractual leave and sick days to take the time to heal their mental wounds. There were investigators who stayed on scene for days collecting evidence,” Orr said. “The Sandy Hook Relief Fund donated money to help the first responders there once they had exhausted their contractual leave. Those first responders needed time to recuperate, they may need up to a few months off.”

“The criteria of the proposed bill will cover any police officer, firefighter or ambulance worker who is diagnosed by a psychiatrist or psychologist with PTSD, which originates from any of those first responders witnessing the death or maiming, or visually witnessing the immediate aftermath of such death or maiming, of one or more human beings, and whose death or maiming is caused by an act of another human being … and was causally connected with the first responder’s employment.”

First responders see things that most people would never see or want to see in their lives and instead of running away they run towards the damage and do their best to make the situation better.  Sometimes those images repay over and over in your head for periods of time.  It is up to the state to show their support and pass this bill so that these responders and be treated properly and return to work without feeling a financial burden that comes with their job.

Source: The Hour