SB 289

The " James ' Dustin ' Samples Act "" provides that i f a firefighter is diagnosed, within one year of the firefighter's final date of employment, with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by a mental health professional as a result of responding to one or more incidents with at least one of the factors described below, then the injury is presumed to have incurred in the line of duty and is compens able under the Workers' Compensation Law, unless it is shown by a preponderance of the evidence that the PTSD was caused by non-service-connected risk factors or non-service-connected exposure. The factors to be considered for purposes of determining whet her an injury is presumed to have been incurred in the line of duty are as follows:  Directly witnessing the death of a minor, or treating the injury of a minor, who subsequently died before or upon arrival at a hospital emergency department .  Directly witnessing an individual whose death involved a serious bodily injury of a nature that shocks the conscience .  Responding to an event where there was a victim with a serious bodily injury that shocks the conscience .  Responding to an event where a responder, co-worker of a responder, or family member of a responder sustained a serious bodily injury or died. This bill expands the Act to also cover law enforcement officers and emergency medical responde rs. This bill defines ""e mergency medical responder s"" as emergency medical technician s, technician-paramedic s, or paramedic s, and ""l aw enforcement officer s"" as individual s employed by this state or a local government as member s of a law enforcement agency whose primary responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime and the apprehension of offenders ."