It’s important to understand workers’ comp. claim options

Most cities and towns are aware that workers’ compensation coverage is provided to their emergency medical technicians and emergency medical services personnel, but they may have questions about the optional statute that the city or town may consider with respect to indemnifying these employees.

Unlike firefighters and police officers, EMTs may elect to recover under either Chapter 152 of the General Laws, the Workers’ Compensation Act, or Chapter 41, Section 111M, provided that the city or town has accepted this statutory section.

Firefighters and police officers may only recover under Section 111F, which defines what a police officer or firefighter may recover if incapacitated because of injuries sustained in the performance of his or her duty without fault of his or her own.

In part, Section 111F reads, “All amounts payable under this section shall be paid at the same times and in the same manner as, and for all purposes shall be deemed to be, the regular compensation of such police officer or firefighter. This section shall also apply to any member of a fire department who is subject to the provisions of Chapter 152 if he is injured at a fire and if he waives the provisions of said chapter.”

EMTs and emergency medical services personnel are not specifically excluded in Chapter 152, Section 69, or in any other section of the Workers’ Compensation Act. EMTs may elect to recover under either Section 111M or the Worker’s Compensation Act, but there are two exceptions to an EMT recovering under Section 111M:

1. The EMT must be injured while delivering emergency medical services. This requires a component of actively delivering medical services. For example, an EMT who is waiting for the next emergency response call, or eating lunch, does not qualify for 111M recovery.

2. The EMT may only recover under Section 111M if the EMT waives the provisions of the Worker’s Compensation Act, provided that the city or town previously voted to accept this statutory section.

Should an EMT suffer a disabling injury while in the course and scope of his or her employment with the city or town, and the individual has concurrent employment from which he or she is also disabled due to the injury, the concurrent employer must carry workers’ compensation insurance in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in order for the employee to be compensated for the lost wages from that employer.

Chapter 41, Section 111M, defines what an EMT may recover if incapacitated because of injuries sustained in the performance of his duty without fault of his own.

In pertinent part Section 111M reads, “In any city or town which accepts this section, an employee of a city or town or fire or water district who is responsible for delivering emergency medical services under the provisions of Chapter 111C [which defines emergency medical services and how an individual becomes certified as an EMT], and who is incapacitated for duty because of injury sustained in the performance of his duty without fault of his own shall be granted leave without loss of pay for the period of such incapacity; provided, that no such leave shall be granted for any period after such emergency medical personnel has been retired or pensioned in accordance with law or for any period after a physician designated by the board or personnel authorized to appoint emergency medical personnel in such city, town or district determines that such incapacity no longer exists. All amounts payable under this section shall be paid at the time and in the same manner as, and for all purposes shall be deemed to be, the regular compensation of such emergency medical personnel. This section shall also apply to any such employee who is subject to the provisions of Chapter 152 if he is injured while delivering emergency medical services and if he waives the provisions of said chapter.”

Cities and town managers are advised to familiarize themselves with these statutes and to understand the differences, as well as their need to adopt certain voluntary statutes and the need to educate the injured EMT at the time the injury is reported.

Niko Pappas is MIIA’s Workers’ Compensation Claims Manager. John Keefe is an attorney with the firm Tentindo, Kendall, Canniff & Keefe.