9 Investigates tracked down Florida’s chief financial officer in Tallahassee to ask him whether the state law providing benefits to firefighters diagnosed with cancer needs...
A longtime Brevard County firefighter says years of trauma he witnessed on the job led to a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, but his department...
The Florida League of Cities has asked an appellate court judge to uphold a ruling against a former Volusia County firefighter, who has been seeking...
A former Volusia County firefighter’s cancer diagnosis could lead to sweeping changes in the way other first responders in the same situation are treated.
With first responders and health workers now testing positive for COVID-19, their unions and attorneys in Florida and Minnesota are urging governors to order that...
Sadly, heart bill protections remain largely mis-understood among Florida first responders. As I sit down to write this article, the Florida Senate unanimously passed a...
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES Division of Workers’ Compensation RULE NO.: RULE TITLE: 69L-3.009 Injuries that Qualify as Grievous Bodily Harm of a Nature that Shocks...
Six months after the Florida Legislature deemed post-traumatic stress disorder a workplace injury, and just days before the law takes effect, state regulators are still...
First responders who were on the scene at Pulse shared their consequent struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder at an event co-hosted by ProPublica, 90.7 WMFE...
The post-settlement process can be complex, especially when it comes to medical care for injured parties and their families. Finding a reliable team of people...
News 6 investigator Mike Hofeld joins the program to talk about the historic passage of a bill that allows first responders to get workers compensation...
The Florida House of Representatives on Monday gave final approval to a bill that would allow first responders to claim post-traumatic stress disorder as a...
A long-gestating proposal to grant Florida first responders access to workers’ compensation benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder has gained new momentum in the wake of...
Florida business leaders are saying “told you so” after the Office of Judges of Compensation Claims reported that claimants’ attorney fees increased 36% in the...
An Orlando claimants’ attorney said he argued a “novel” legal theory Monday before a judge of compensation claims, positing that a police officer with PTSD...
State Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, who is also Florida’s fire marshal, is backing cancer and PTSD presumption legislation for first responders, WFLA-News Channel 8...
A former Orlando police officer says the city of Orlando and the police department harassed him after he came forward with post-traumatic stress disorder after...
A parade of tearful first responders, spouses and survivors who were prepared to testify against a PTSD presumption bill reversed course Tuesday after the sponsoring...
An Orlando firefighter who responded to the Pulse Nightclub shooting is the second first responder to file a claim challenging a state law that generally...
The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee next week will discuss legislation that would award first responders indemnity benefits for mental-mental claims for injuries such as...
Florida Democrats have introduced dueling bills that would allow first responders to receive workers' compensation benefits in mental-mental claims for injuries such as PTSD, but...
Florida’s 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that a single elevated blood pressure reading noted in a police officer’s preemployment physical examination did not constitute...
A former Orlando, Florida, police officer who developed post-traumatic stress disorder after recovering bodies from the Pulse nightclub shooting spree in June 2016 is contemplating...
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) -- Tallahassee firefighters working at Fire Station 7 are being temporarily housed at Fire Station 9 following concerns of mold. Mariel Carbone
ORLANDO, Florida — Most states are racing to the bottom on providing adequate workers’ compensation benefits, but Florida has a unique Constitution that prevents legislative...
The Police Pension Board for the City of Orlando approved a disability retirement for a 37-year-old officer diagnosed with post-truamatic stress syndrome, a decision that...
The Orlando Police Pension Board granted early retirement benefits to an officer diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after the Pulse nightclub massacre during an emotional...
ORLANDO, Fla. - An Orlando police officer who responded to the shooting massacre at Pulse Nightclub last year has been granted early-retirement benefits after being...
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Orlando Police Department Pension Board granted the early retirement and pension for an officer diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after he...
Despite staunch opposition from the city, the Orlando Police Pension Board on Thursday granted early retirement benefits to an officer diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder...
ORLANDO, Fla. — An officer diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after the Pulse nightclub mass shooting was given a full disability pension on Thursday. WESH...
ORLANDO -- During an emotional hearing Thursday at Orlando City Hall, a pension board granted permanent disability benefits to a former Orlando Police officer diagnosed...
An Orlando Police officer diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after responding to the Pulse massacre was granted a disability pension by the city board Thursday....
The Orlando first responder who has battled his department for months after being diagnosed with PTSD has received a disability pension. Christopher Brennan
UPDATE: The Orlando Pension Board has granted full permanent disability to Orlando Police officer diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Gene Wexler
ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - An Orlando Police Officer diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder will be allowed to retire early after a decision...
ORLANDO, Fla. - A first responder who said he developed post-traumatic stress disorder after the Pulse terror attack will be able to get a disability...
ORLANDO, Fla. - Orlando Police Department first responder Gerry Realin has been waiting for more than a year to learn if his diagnosis of post-traumatic...
ORLANDO, Fla. - One year after the tragic Pulse nightclub shooting OPD first responder Gerry Realin has been deemed “permanently and totally disabled” by an...
Orlando police officer Gerry Realin, 37, was a first responder assigned to remove bodies from the Pulse nightclub following the shooting that left 49 dead...
Florida’s 1st District Court of Appeal this week ruled that an injured worker was wrongfully deprived of an opportunity to create a record for establishing...
Rates of PTSD in firefighters may be heightened more so than in any other professions. See, many people will experience a potentially traumatic event at...
When William Duesler joined Tamarac Fire Rescue 14 years ago, experienced firefighters used to hang scorched helmets on the wall with pride. They didn't know...
One year ago this week, Orlando police Officer Gerry Realin spent four hours removing dead bodies from Pulse Nightclub. Officers covered the 49 victims' bodies...
Tests have shown fires at homes filled with items made from modern-day synthetic materials burn hotter and faster than homes filled with the natural construction...
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A bill offering workers compensation benefits for first responders diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder was approved by the state Senate’s banking and...
The wife of an Orlando police officer suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder gave emotional testimony Monday, urging lawmakers to support a bill that would offer...
Firefighting is widely recognized as a hazardous occupation. In particular, fire scenes are unpredictable and dangerous environments characterized by loud noise, high temperatures, flames, smoke...
“For police officers like Realin, Delgado, and other embattled cops and soldiers, PTSD is not something they claimed. Rather, through no fault of their own,...
FRANKFORT - For more than a week, State Rep. Adam Koenig, R-Erlanger, has been fielding calls and emails from first-responders asking him why he sponsored...
Ohio's largest police union wants the Bureau of Workers Compensation to cover more claims for post-traumatic stress disorder in first responders. KAREN KASLER
Bills to provide a PTSD presumption for first responders and to shield the names of claimants from the public — especially attorneys — were introduced...
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting catastrophe took place on December 14, 2012. Shortly, news reports appeared that surviving workers could not get mental health...
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. - Looking back, Leslie Dangerfield said the signals were subtle, but as the years went by her husband, Indian River County...
Post-traumatic stress disorder among emergency first responders in Florida would be compensable, even if not accompanied by a physical injury, under legislation introduced by Sen....
Democratic State Senator Victor Torres filed a bill Tuesday to allow first responders to get worker’s compensation coverage for post-traumatic stress disorder.Abe Aboraya
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - First responders who are fighting post-traumatic stress disorder on the job are one step closer to getting the same benefits as...
Tallahassee, FL (WorkersCompensation.com) - All 50 states have some version of an open-meeting law, or what is colloquially known as a Sunshine Law. These laws...
COCOA, Fla. - When the call “vehicle-pedestrian” came over the Cocoa Fire Department’s emergency radio last July, it was a call Josh Vandegrift had handled...
The Florida Division of Workers' Compensation will hold a public hearing Dec. 6 on proposed amendements to its rule on expert medical advisers - rules...
In tonight's cover story we delve deeper into the firefighter-PTSD connection. Statistically, the numbers are shocking, more than double the number of suicides compared to...
Florida's 1st District Court of Appeal on Wednesday ruled that the state's statutory 104-week cap on temporary partial disability benefits cannot cut off the benefit...
Unlevel the Playing Field? by Sherri Okamoto is in WorkCompCentral's Special Report this month. Our Managing Partner, Geoffrey Bichler, is quoted in the article while...
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The veteran firefighter who committed suicide Saturday aggressively fought post-traumatic stress disorder for years, his father said. KLamaur Stancil
ORLANDO, Fla. - A move to provide better worker's compensation coverage for first responders living with post-traumatic stress disorder might find some traction in Tallahassee...
Florida’s extraordinary tradition of open government is founded on the simple but essential concept that the people have a right to know how and why...
ORLANDO -- The wife of an Orlando Police officer said her husband has regressed since being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after working the Pulse...
One of the nation’s foremost authorities on workers’ compensation predicts that Florida — already facing a huge proposed rate increase over adverse court decisions —...
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - First responder Gerry Realin worked nearly round-the-clock after the Pulse terror attack on June 12. But now, because of the PTSD...
ORLANDO, Fla. - Officer Gerry Realin was a microbiologist, a researcher, who says he turned to law enforcement after seeing the movie “The Rock." Mike...
EDGEWATER - After several months fighting with the city over his police pension, a former Edgewater police officer injured on the job had that pension...
Florida’s highest court has struck down as unconstitutional a portion of the state workers' compensation law in the case of a former St. Petersburg firefighter....
At 33, former Edgewater police sergeant Chris DeRosa's law enforcement career ended because of on-the-job injuries from nearly three years earlier that made him unfit...
Florida's business community and employee advocates are expressing alarm at a proposed 17.1 percent rate hike for what employers pay to cover workers' compensation insurance....
A panel from Florida's 1st District Court of Appeal on Wednesday declared the state's statutory limits on the compensation of claimants' attorneys unconstitutional, as applied...
TALLAHASSEE — An appeals court on Wednesday ruled unconstitutional a state law that prohibited an Edgewater police officer who said she was injured due to...
TALLAHASSEE — An appeals court on Wednesday ruled unconstitutional a state law that prohibited an Edgewater police officer who said she was injured due to...
As readers will recall, I authorised an article in September which outlined a massive problem related to unpaid impairment benefits to Palm Beach PBA members...
s Florida public employees brace for the next legislative session in Tallahassee, the agenda of the League of Cities threatens to steamroll any reasoned discussion...
The Florida Supreme Court has agreed to accept review of yet another workers' compensation case. Stahl v. Hialeah Hospital is a constitutional challenge based on...
The PBCPBA has discovered that potentially millions of dollars in unpaid benefits are owed to members with work-injury claims, even though the members have returned...
Regulators considering revisions to Florida Impairment Guides that could have major impact on tax fee impairment benefit payments to First Responder Community.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania celebrates its workers' compensation centennial in 2015. Part of the bar and agency recognition of this milestone was a program presented...
