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.
