S.C. legislation aims to expand firefighter workers’ comp
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - A pre-filed bill at the South Carolina State House is meant to expand workers’ compensation for firefighters to include stroke, heart disease and respiratory disease.
District 99 Rep. Mark Smith from Berkeley County pre-filed the bill and calls it common-sense legislation.
“This particular bill, as related to the firefighters, health and safety, really just seems to be a no-brainer situation, that we continue to take care of our firemen,” he said.
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The bill’s wording adds stroke to the eligible list for workers’ comp and expands the presumptive list to include stroke, heart disease and cardiovascular disease.
John Baker with the Professional Association of Firefighters for South Carolina knows the risks of the job as a longtime Charleston firefighter himself.
“We had a member who suffered a heart attack while on duty he was working out, which was something we have mandated in our standard operating procedures of making sure that we’re physically and capable of doing our jobs and to keep us in shape,” Baker says. “So he had to exhaust all of his sick time all of his vacation time and eventually he ran out of that time and had to go without a paycheck before getting cleared.”
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That’s just one South Carolina example backed up by data from multiple studies published by the National Library of Medicine.
One 13-year study showed firefighters have high heart rates compared to other public servant jobs, and that can lead to risks of heart attack and stroke.
“What we’ve noticed over the years is firefighting, is obviously an inherently dangerous job, but we’re seeing so many more issues because of the data that we have that are causing, you know, firefighters to have cardiovascular issues strokes and respiratory disease,” Baker says.
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The legislative session will start at the State House in January 2025.
This bill will be pre-filed in the House of Representatives.
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