Help for the heroes who protect our communities is a signature away as the State Assembly today gave final passage to the “Public Safety PTSD Coverage Act” in a unanimous voice vote.
State Senator André Jacque of De Pere, who authored the measure, said increasing suicide rates for first responders suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are now outpacing on-duty deaths.
Law enforcement and firefighters are routinely subjected to catastrophic incidents involving severe injury and death at a rate much greater than the general workforce.
Unfortunately, they are unable to receive coverage under Wisconsin’s current worker’s compensation law due to a 1974 Wisconsin Supreme Court Case that requires “a situation of greater dimensions” than experienced by those within the same profession- essentially punishing them for choosing an occupation where they must routinely rush toward, rather than away from, danger.
This bill eliminates the “greater dimensions” requirement for these professions and recognizes that while a single event can trigger PTSD, so can repeated everyday exposure to dangerous high stress events.
