Bill Would Compensate First Responders Injured Outside Their Jurisdictions

Wednesday, March 29, 2017 | 0

West Virginia Del. Tony Lewis, R-Preston, has introduced a bill to award death and disability benefits to firefighters, emergency medical technicians and other first responders who are injured or killed while responding to emergencies outside their normal jurisdictions.

Del. Tony Lewis

First responders would not be required to be on duty or to be responding to a call from their employer in order to be compensated for their injuries, according to House Bill 2644.

Dependents of first responders who die in the line of duty outside their typical jurisdictions would be compensated, the bill states.

First responders would be eligible for benefits if responding to emergencies defined as “sudden, unforeseen” happenings that require action to protect lives and property. The venue must fall within the state of West Virginia, the bill states.

“This bill came about when I heard of a Fellowsville firefighter who came upon a vehicle accident out of his area while working his daily job. While attending to the injured, he jumped a barricade into a culvert to avoid a car that was coming towards him,” Lewis told the Preston County Journal.

“The drop was further than, I suppose, he anticipated, and he died from his injuries,” Lewis said. “Because he was out of his area, his survivors did not receive workers’ compensation or survivor benefits.”

HB 2644 is in the House Government Organizations Committee. If approved, the bill goes next to the Finance Committee before a possible floor vote.