As a public safety worker, you have dedicated your life to helping those in need. Making quick decisions under pressure can save lives, but sometimes it comes at the expense of your wellbeing. When dealing with a health concern that stemmed from the stress of your occupation, there are legal and practical implications that can become complicated.
Causes of hypertension in Florida first responders are often career-related. Talk to a first responder hypertension lawyer at Bichler & Longo, PLLC so we can help protect your rights and interests after a job-related hypertension diagnosis.
Public safety workers, including firefighters, law enforcement officers, and corrections officers, face occupational factors that contribute to hypertension, or chronically elevated blood pressure, including:
These grueling demands and hazardous risks put public safety workers at risk of hypertension. In Florida’s extremely hot climate, these systemic issues are magnified. What may begin as a temporary survival response during a high-stakes first response situation may evolve into chronic vascular remodeling as blood vessels lose their natural elasticity. This essentially locks your heart’s functioning system in a permanent state of high resistance.
As a first responder dedicated to protecting others, there is a special law designed to protect you. The Florida Heart and Lung Statute under Florida Statute § 112.18(1)(a) shields firefighters, law enforcement officers, and corrections officers, from the burden of proving the nature of your work led to your medical condition.
As long as you passed a pre-employment physical examination that indicated no evidence of hypertension, the law presumes that your later diagnosis of a blood pressure health issue afterward was suffered in the line of duty. Securing this legal protection will help ensure you receive full workers’ compensation and related medical coverage to treat the health issues that stemmed from your career.
In order to maintain the legal presumption that a diagnosis of hypertension was caused by your job, first responders who retire or leave the job must follow a strict procedural timeline. Generally, workers must assert the protections of the Heart and Lung statute within 180 days of leaving their position in accordance with Fla. Stat. § 112.18(1)(a)(4).
Causes of hypertension in Florida first responders are often the unfortunate result of chronic, job-related stress. State law acknowledges that years of exposure to occupational stressors may contribute to health conditions involving high blood pressure.
At Bichler & Longo, we deeply value the work you do to help others. With our extensive knowledge of benefits under the law, you do not have to face another battle related to your health alone. Give us a call today for your free case evaluation after a hypertension diagnosis.