Senate Bill No. 571
(By Senators Jenkins, Plymale, Deem, Minard, Green, Hall, Hunter,
Foster, Kessler, Stollings and Yoder)
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[Introduced February 5, 2008; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto two new sections, designated §23-4-26 and
§23-4-27, all relating to disability and death benefits under
workers' compensation; cardiovascular injury or disease or
pulmonary disease suffered by a professional firefighter;
creating a rebuttable presumption that cardiovascular injury
or disease or pulmonary disease suffered by a professional
firefighter is an occupational injury if certain criteria are
met; creating a rebuttable presumption that cardiovascular
injury or disease or pulmonary disease resulting in death of
a professional firefighter is a death by an occupational
injury if certain criteria are met; providing that sufficient
notice of occupational injury, disease or death has been
satisfied under such circumstances; establishing presumption
that death or injury not occasioned by willful intent; and definitions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto two new sections, designated §23-4-26 and
§23-4-27, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. DISABILITY AND DEATH BENEFITS.
§23-4-26. Cardiovascular injury or disease or pulmonary disease
suffered by a professional firefighter.
If any person has been employed as a professional firefighter
by a municipal fire department for at least two years prior to a
cardiovascular injury or the onset of a cardiovascular disease or
pulmonary disease and if the disease has developed or the injury
has occurred within six months of having participated in fire
fighting or training or drill which actually involves fire
fighting, there is a rebuttable presumption that the employee
received the injury or contracted the disease arising out of and in
the course of his or her employment, that sufficient notice of the
injury or disease has been given, and that the injury or disease
was not occasioned by the willful intention of the employee to
injure himself or herself or another.
For the purposes of this section, a person shall be considered
to have been employed by a municipal fire department as a
professional firefighter if he or she is employed as an active
member of a municipal fire department and if that person aids in the extinguishment of fires, regardless of whether that person has
administrative duties or other duties as a member of the municipal
fire department.
§23-4-27. Cardiovascular injury or disease or pulmonary disease
resulting in a professional firefighter's death.
If any person has been employed as a professional firefighter
by a municipal fire department for at least two years prior to a
cardiovascular injury or the onset of a cardiovascular disease or
pulmonary disease and provided that the person has developed the
disease or has suffered the injury which resulted in death within
six months of having participated in fire fighting or training or
drill which actually involves fire fighting, there is a rebuttable
presumption that the person received the injury or disease arising
out of and in the course of his or her employment, that sufficient
notice of the injury or disease was given, and that the injury or
disease was not occasioned by the willful intention of the employee
to injure himself or herself or another.
For the purposes of this section, a person is considered to
have been employed by a municipal fire department as a professional
firefighter if he or she is employed as an active member of a
municipal fire department and if that person aids in the
extinguishment of fires, regardless of whether that person has
administrative duties or other duties as a member of the municipal
fire department.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a presumption of
compensability for cardiovascular injury or disease of professional
firefighters employed by municipal fire departments.
These sections are new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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