Firefighters have one of the riskiest jobs in the U.S. They are on standby for much of the time, ready at any time to respond to a fire or other similar emergency. Fires may be in the middle of a city, in an industrial estate, in the suburbs, or in a forest. They could involve small, easy to extinguish fires, or huge infernos that could last for many days. Firefighters are at risk from burns, suffocation, smoke inhalation and injuries from machinery. Their injuries could potentially lead to fatalities or long term disability. Firefighters are also often requested to help when there is no existing fire, but a potential fire or a situation requiring delicate removal from a crash scene on a highway or in a building where their knowledge of extrication procedures may prove valuable. Common Workplace Injuries Typical firefighter injuries include: burns from direct exposure to flames or being trapped in a burning building or forest crush injuries from falling building sites or trees, such as traumatic brain injury and broken limbs lung and respiratory tract damage from smoke inhalation injuries sustained from vehicle accidents, bearing in mind that fire crews are often rushed to an emergency situation and may also be hard to see on the ground in a forest fire or large urban blaze Next Steps After a Workplace Injury Firefighters may work for a city or county or for a private company. They should be covered by their employer’s workers’ compensation insurance. After any injury, the supervisor should be informed as soon as possible and the accident recorded in the employer’s accident log. The employer may then pass on the information to the state agency responsible for workers’ comp. or directly to their own insurer. After treatment, the firefighter should file a claim with the insurer, stating the amount claimed. Workers’ comp. is not based on negligence per se, so there is no need to prove that the employer was negligent in any way, e.g. by not providing sufficient fire retardant uniform. How Workers Compensation Can Help Workers’ compensation is strictly for medical expenses and lost earnings. There may be a payment for permanent disability or retraining in the event that the injury was severe enough to prevent a return to firefighting. If the firefighter was killed when attending an emergency situation while at work, then his or her immediate dependents may be paid compensation for the loss of their relative and breadwinner. While generally all costs for medical treatment are normally covered by workers’ comp. the payment for lost earnings is typically only a percentage of what might have been earned if the injured firefighter had been able to report to work. This varies a little from state to state, but is around two thirds of average earnings. Why You Should Contact a WC Attorney You might think that a workers’ compensation claim would be swiftly dealt with after an injury, but unfortunately this is not always the case. In the event of a challenge from the insurer or an outright denial, it may be necessary to use a workers’ compensation attorney to explore legal options which can break the deadlock.
