The General Assembly is seeking to make another fundamental change which could represent significant financial exposure to public employers across the Buckeye State. The change was introduced in House Bill 308 and alters the way Post-traumatic stress disorder (or “PTSD”) claims are handled for firefighters, police, and EMS personnel.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, a serious accident, a terrorist act, war/combat, or a violent personal assault. Studies show that while a little over 5% of Americans will develop PTSD symptoms in their lifetime, approximately 18% of first responders will develop symptoms at some point in their careers.[1]

Under the current law, claims filed by first-responders for a PTSD claim are handled under the guidelines set by the Ohio Supreme Court in McCrone v. Bank One Corp., 107 Ohio St. 3d 272 (2005) and Armstrong v. John R. Jurgensen Co., 136 Ohio St. 3d 58 (2013).

First, the claimant in McCrone was working as a bank teller when the bank was robbed. While she was not physically injured, McCrone filed a claim with the BWC for her psychological condition stemming from the robbery. The claim was denied and McCrone appealed and the case eventually made its way to the Ohio Supreme Court. The Court ruled that claims for psychological conditions are not compensable unless they are caused by a physical injury. The court reaffirmed this holding in Armstrong. There, the claimant, Armstrong, was working as a dump truck driver when he witnessed another driver collide with his stationary dump truck. The claimant, Armstrong, immediately exited his vehicle and saw the other driver’s fatal injuries. After filing a workers’ compensation claim for his own minor injuries, Armstrong sought to add his PTSD diagnosis as a compensable condition. The request was initially allowed by the Industrial Commission. However, upon review, the Ohio Supreme Court held that R.C. 4123.01 only permitted compensation for psychological conditions – such as PTSD – when they are causally related to compensable physical injuries. In other words, in order for Armstrong’s PTSD to be allowed by the Industrial Commission, it had to have been caused by his physical injuries. As a result, his psychological condition was not compensable.

This rule – that the PTSD diagnosis must be caused by the allowed physical injuries – has been the rule used by courts and the Industrial Commission since the case was decided in 2005. However, this summer, Representative Thomas Patton introduced House Bill 308, which proposes a major change to the way PTSD claims are handled for first responders. Specifically, House Bill 308 would remove the requirement that claims for PTSD compensation be accompanied by a compensable physical injury for all firefighters, police, and EMS personnel. If passed in its current form, the bill would limit receipt of disability benefits for PTSD to one year.

When a PTSD bill was introduced in 2015, an analysis released by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation estimated that the additional coverage would cost $182 million per year. The BWC estimates that the costs for House Bill 308 will be around $44 million in the first year.

House Bill 308 was referred to the House Insurance Committee on September 24, 2019, where it is still under review. The committee has held two hearings on the bill and has heard testimony from several proponents. Similar laws have been passed or introduced in Florida, Minnesota, Kentucky, Washington, and Arizona.

Whether the bill will be passed, and in what form, remains to be seen. However, based on the BWC’s analysis, the bill could represent significant financial liability for many public employers.  Like the firefighter cancer law, the bill will require new and innovative approaches to the evaluation of the new claims brought under the law.

We’ll continue to monitor this bill and keep you informed. Please follow Fishel Downey on social media for updates. FDAR attorneys regularly defend a wide variety of workers’ compensation claims for Ohio’s public and private employers. Anyone with questions about House Bill 308, or about Ohio’s Workers’ Compensation law in general, are encouraged to reach out to us at 614.221.1216 or info@fisheldowney.com.

[1] http://workplacementalhealth.org/Mental-Health-Topics/Posttraumatic-Stress-Disorder; https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/dtac/supplementalresearchbulletin-firstresponders-may2018.pdf; http://archive.northwestpublichealth.org/docs/nph/f2006/beaton_f2006.pdf