MADISON, WI (WTAQ) – Help for Wisconsin’s first responders is on the way after Gov. Evers today (TUE) signed the “Public Safety PTSD Coverage Act” at a Fire Station just blocks from the state Capitol.
State Sen. André Jacque (R-De Pere) authored the bi-partisan measure. He says increasing suicide rates for first responders suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are now outpacing on-duty deaths.
“PTSD can be treated effectively and allow those affected to return to protecting and serving the public. It is critical that the men and women we depend on as first responders who are affected by PTSD have access to this treatment.”
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 workers 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.
