S 7272: Relates to benefits for police officers, correction officers, firefighters, and other emergency personnel diagnosed with PTSD by making their injury compensable if it cannot be shown, by a preponderance of evidence, that the PTSD was caused by factors unrelated to their occupation.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7272 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE April 7, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. GOUNARDES, JACKSON -- read twice and ordered print- ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Govern- ment AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to benefits for police officers, correction officers, firefighters, and other emergen- cy personnel diagnosed with PTSD The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 207-a of the general municipal 2 law, as amended by chapter 27 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 1. Any paid firefighter which term as used in this section shall mean 5 any paid officer or member of an organized fire company or fire depart- 6 ment of a city of less than one million population, or town, village or 7 fire district, or any paid firefighter of a county airport or county 8 aviation department which performs fire response or fire rescue duties, 9 who is injured in the performance of [his or her] their duties or who is 10 taken sick as a result of the performance of [his or her] their duties 11 so as to necessitate medical or other lawful remedial treatment, shall 12 be paid by the municipality or fire district by which [he or she is] 13 they are employed the full amount of [his or her] their regular salary 14 or wages until [his or her] their disability arising therefrom has 15 ceased, and, in addition, such municipality or fire district shall be 16 liable for all medical treatment and hospital care furnished during such 17 disability. For the purposes of this section, such disability shall 18 include post-traumatic stress disorder, as diagnosed by a psychiatrist 19 or psychologist, and shall be presumed to have been incurred during 20 service in the line of duty and shall be compensable under this section, 21 unless it is shown by a preponderance of the evidence that that post- 22 traumatic stress disorder was caused solely by nonservice-connected risk 23 factors or nonservice-connected exposure. Provided, however, and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07842-02-5 
 S. 7272 2 1 notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, the municipal 2 health authorities or any physician appointed for the purpose by the 3 municipality or fire district, may attend any such injured or sick fire- 4 fighter, from time to time, for the purpose of providing medical, surgi- 5 cal, or other treatment, or for making inspections and the municipality 6 or fire district shall not be liable for salary or wages payable to such 7 a firefighter, or for the cost of medical or hospital care or treatment 8 furnished, after such date as the health authorities or such physician 9 shall certify that such injured or sick firefighter has recovered and is 10 physically able to perform [his or her] their regular duties in the 11 company or department. Any injured or sick firefighter who shall refuse 12 to accept such medical treatment or hospital care or shall refuse to 13 permit medical inspections as herein authorized, including examinations 14 resulting from the application of subdivision two hereof, shall be 15 deemed to have waived [his or her] their rights under this section in 16 respect to expenses incurred for medical treatment or hospital care or 17 salary or wages payable after such refusal. 18 Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a provider of 19 medical treatment or hospital care furnished pursuant to the provisions 20 of this section shall not collect or attempt to collect reimbursement 21 for such treatment or care from any such member of the fire department 22 of any such city. 23 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 207-c of the general municipal law, as 24 amended by section 55 of chapter 476 of the laws of 2018, is amended to 25 read as follows: 26 1. Any sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or corrections officer of 27 the sheriff's department of any county or any member of a police force 28 of any county, city of less than one million population, town or 29 village, or of any district, agency, board, body or commission thereof, 30 or any LIRR police officer as defined in paragraph two of subdivision a 31 of section three hundred eighty-nine of the retirement and social secu- 32 rity law whose benefits are provided in and pursuant to such section 33 three hundred eighty-nine, or a detective-investigator or any other 34 investigator who is a police officer pursuant to the provisions of the 35 criminal procedure law employed in the office of a district attorney of 36 any county, or any corrections officer of the county of Erie department 37 of corrections, or an advanced ambulance medical technician employed by 38 the county of Nassau, or any detention officer employed by the city of 39 Yonkers, or any supervising fire inspector, fire inspector, fire 40 marshal, or assistant fire marshal employed full-time in the county of 41 Nassau fire marshal's office, or at the option of the county of Nassau, 42 any probation officer of the county of Nassau who is injured in the 43 performance of [his or her] their duties or who is taken sick as a 44 result of the performance of [his or her] their duties so as to necessi- 45 tate medical or other lawful remedial treatment shall be paid by the 46 municipality or The Long Island Rail Road Company by which [he or she 47 is] they are employed the full amount of [his or her] their regular 48 salary or wages from such employer until [his or her] their disability 49 arising therefrom has ceased, and, in addition such municipality or The 50 Long Island Rail Road Company shall be liable for all medical treatment 51 and hospital care necessitated by reason of such injury or illness. For 52 the purposes of this section, such disability shall include post-trau- 53 matic stress disorder, as diagnosed by a psychiatrist or psychologist, 54 and shall be presumed to have been incurred during service in the line 55 of duty and shall be compensable under this section, unless it is shown 56 by a preponderance of the evidence that that post-traumatic stress 
 S. 7272 3 1 disorder was caused solely by nonservice-connected risk factors or 2 nonservice-connected exposure. Provided, however, and notwithstanding 3 the foregoing provisions of this section, the municipal or The Long 4 Island Rail Road Company health authorities or any physician appointed 5 for the purpose by the municipality or The Long Island Rail Road Compa- 6 ny, as relevant, after a determination has first been made that such 7 injury or sickness was incurred during, or resulted from, such perform- 8 ance of duty, may attend any such injured or sick police officer, from 9 time to time, for the purpose of providing medical, surgical or other 10 treatment, or for making inspections, and the municipality or The Long 11 Island Rail Road Company, as the case may be, shall not be liable for 12 salary or wages payable to such police officer, or for the cost of 13 medical treatment or hospital care furnished after such date as such 14 health authorities or physician shall certify that such injured or sick 15 police officer has recovered and is physically able to perform [his or 16 her] their regular duties. Any injured or sick police officer who shall 17 refuse to accept medical treatment or hospital care or shall refuse to 18 permit medical inspections as herein authorized, including examinations 19 pursuant to subdivision two of this section, shall be deemed to have 20 waived [his or her] their rights under this section in respect to 21 expenses for medical treatment or hospital care rendered and for salary 22 or wages payable after such refusal. 23 Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a provider of 24 medical treatment or hospital care furnished pursuant to the provisions 25 of this section shall not collect or attempt to collect reimbursement 26 for such treatment or care from any such police officer, any such 27 advanced ambulance medical technician or any such detention officer. 28 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 207-c of the general municipal law, as 29 amended by section 56 of chapter 476 of the laws of 2018, is amended to 30 read as follows: 31 1. Any sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or corrections officer of 32 the sheriff's department of any county (hereinafter referred to as a 33 "police officer") or any member of a police force of any county, city of 34 less than one million population, town or village, or of any district, 35 agency, board, body or commission thereof, or a detective-investigator 36 or any other investigator who is a police officer pursuant to the 37 provisions of the criminal procedure law employed in the office of a 38 district attorney of any county, or any corrections officer of the coun- 39 ty of Erie department of corrections, or an advanced ambulance medical 40 technician employed by the county of Nassau, or any detention officer 41 employed by the city of Yonkers, or any supervising fire inspector, fire 42 inspector, fire marshal or assistant fire marshal employed full-time in 43 the county of Nassau fire marshal's office, or at the option of the 44 county of Nassau, any probation officer of the county of Nassau who is 45 injured in the performance of [his or her] their duties or who is taken 46 sick as a result of the performance of [his or her] their duties so as 47 to necessitate medical or other lawful remedial treatment shall be paid 48 by the municipality by which [he or she is] they are employed the full 49 amount of [his or her] their regular salary or wages until [his or her] 50 their disability arising therefrom has ceased, and, in addition such 51 municipality shall be liable for all medical treatment and hospital care 52 necessitated by reason of such injury or illness. For the purposes of 53 this section, such disability shall include post-traumatic stress disor- 54 der, as diagnosed by a psychiatrist or psychologist, and shall be 55 presumed to have been incurred during service in the line of duty and 56 shall be compensable under this section, unless it is shown by a prepon- 
 S. 7272 4 1 derance of the evidence that that post-traumatic stress disorder was 2 caused solely by nonservice-connected risk factors or nonservice-con- 3 nected exposure. Provided, however, and notwithstanding the foregoing 4 provisions of this section, the municipal health authorities or any 5 physician appointed for the purpose by the municipality, after a deter- 6 mination has first been made that such injury or sickness was incurred 7 during, or resulted from, such performance of duty, may attend any such 8 injured or sick police officer, from time to time, for the purpose of 9 providing medical, surgical or other treatment, or for making 10 inspections and the municipality shall not be liable for salary or wages 11 payable to such police officer, or for the cost of medical treatment or 12 hospital care furnished after such date as such health authorities or 13 physician shall certify that such injured or sick police officer has 14 recovered and is physically able to perform [his or her] their regular 15 duties. Any injured or sick police officer who shall refuse to accept 16 medical treatment or hospital care or shall refuse to permit medical 17 inspections as herein authorized, including examinations pursuant to 18 subdivision two of this section, shall be deemed to have waived [his or 19 her] their rights under this section in respect to expenses for medical 20 treatment or hospital care rendered and for salary or wages payable 21 after such refusal. 22 Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a provider of 23 medical treatment or hospital care furnished pursuant to the provisions 24 of this section shall not collect or attempt to collect reimbursement 25 for such treatment or care from any such police officer, a member of a 26 police force of any county, city, any such advanced ambulance medical 27 technician, any such detention officer or any such detective-investiga- 28 tor or any other such investigator who is a police officer pursuant to 29 the provisions of the criminal procedure law. 30 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 31 the amendments to subdivision 1 of section 207-c of the general munici- 32 pal law made by section three of this act shall take effect on the same 33 date and in the same manner as chapter 628 of the laws of 1991, takes 34 effect.