HOMEWOOD, Ill. — An appeals court ruled that a state worker’s compensation commission must revisit a firefighter’s previously denied PTSD claim.
Homewood Fire Department Lt. Scott Moran submitted a claim following a house fire in 2010 seeking coverage for symptoms of the disorder.
The Cook County Record reported that during the fire, another firefighter volunteered to enter the house and rescue a trapped person . Firefighter Brian Carey later died of his injuries following the attempted rescue. Following the death, Moran was diagnosed by psychologists with PTSD.
According to court documents obtained by the Record, the department halted all operations for 10 days, and offered counseling and mental health services to firefighters. Firefighters were not permitted to return to work until being cleared by a psychologist.
Nine months after the incident, Moran was cleared to resume work.
His claim for worker’s compensation was denied after an arbitrator found that he did not suffer physical injuries and he did not witness his colleague’s death. He was granted temporary disability.
The appellate court, however, wrote that, “Clearly, this is not the kind of event that an employee would be subject to during the normal course of employment. The claimant’s psychological injuries stemmed from a single, traumatic event … and he is entitled to recover for his psychological disability.”