A law concerning First Responders and Post-Traumatic Stress Injuries is about to go into effect.
Starting in December, the bill will allow firefighters, paramedics, police officers, EMTs to be entitled to benefits under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation law for psychological trauma from individual traumatic events or cumulative highly stressful experiences from their employment, even if there were no physical injuries that require medical treatment. This will create clearer criteria for establishing a PTSI claim, and would require diagnosis from a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist. The bill was created by Senator Camera Bartolotta.
Previously, Pennsylvania law required a first responder to prove there were “objective abnormal working conditions” to establish a claim, which was often difficult to meet.
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