CHARLESTON, W.Va. — One of the bills the state Senate will take up from the House following crossover day will be one that provides first responders in West Virginia an opportunity to receive workers’ compensation benefits if they are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
HB 2321 passed through the House of Delegates on Friday.
Chad Lovejoy, D-Cabell, who has tried to pass similar bills for three years, spoke on the House floor before passage in a powerful speech on how first responders and families suffer from coping with stress.
“We cope in ways that maybe aren’t the most healthy. Maybe we self medicate, maybe its drugs, alcohol, adultery, violence in the house. Our men and women suffer and their families suffer,” he said.
The bill text states that PTSD must be diagnosed by a psychiatrist from an event that occurred during employment as a law enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, or paramedic.
Lovejoy spoke on the House floor about a case of PTSD that ended tragically with a Huntington firefighter. The House Judiciary Committee heard the story from the fire fighter’s father Bobby Coleman about his son Chris.
According to his father, Chris struggled with demons from work and decided to take time off using personal and vacation days to cope with stress. Lovejoy said Chris used up all his days and had a decision to make between continuing to stay off work and make no money or get back to work to feed his family.
“He went back to work,” Lovejoy said. “He went to work too soon. Two weeks later, the hero that wore this helmet hung himself in his garage.”
The committee passed a similar bill last year but it didn’t make it through the process. Lovejoy said similar bills have made it through seven committees during his time.
He went on to admit there are concerns about the costs of the bill but pledged to work on it because the bill will save lives.
“My friend Nick had no choice. When duty called him to respond to that apartment fire ten years ago, he did what duty required him to do and he and his family live with it today,” he said on the floor.
“My friend Daniel back home had no choice when he was called to go to those accident scenes and drug houses. He simply did what duty required and he and his family live with it today.”