Florida Workers’ Compensation Lawyers for First Responders with Heart Disease
Law Office in Tampa, FL
Receiving a diagnosis of heart disease or hypertension can be life-altering. You may be feeling uneasy and overwhelmed with the news. If you believe that this diagnosis is correlated with your work as a first responder, you likely are looking to receive workers’ compensation. Our Florida workers’ compensation lawyers for first responders with heart disease are here to help you achieve success with your case. We know that you deserve full and fair compensation and we know how to get that for you because these cases are things that we handle on a daily basis. We know the insurance companies’ tactics— they tend to see issues such as heart disease or hypertension as hard to prove, which makes them more likely to turn down your claim. We urge you to get in contact with us as soon as you possibly can so that we can start working on building a strong foundation for your case as soon as possible.
Our first responders are a group of dedicated and hard-working individuals who are put in hazardous situations more often than the general public might think. A typical day as a first responder involves exposure to toxins and stress and can lead to a myriad of health issues for EMTs, police officers, and firefighters. We are here to help you build a case that shows just how much your job has to do with the diagnosis of heart disease or hypertension. With this strong foundation, we can set you on a path to getting the full and fair compensation that you deserve.
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Determine the Strength of Your Case with Four Steps
A claim like yours where you are claiming that your heart disease is related to your work as a first responder can be harder to prove. For cases like yours, we put it to a test to determine its strength. This is how it goes:
- The first thing we like to do is showcase to the insurance company that your job is stressful. That might include discussing events that you have been through or a series of events that you have partaking in that have caused you extreme stress that, in turn, has had an impact on your health. We are trying to prove that eventually the amount of stress you went through has led to your heart disease.
- Step two would be locating a pre-employment physical that shows that you were without the diagnosis of heart disease prior to beginning your job. We want to have this so that we can draw a clear line between your job as a first responder and your current diagnosis of heart disease.
- Third, we will be looking at a recent diagnosis that you have had done or will be having done right away that shows your diagnosis of heart disease. When we have these two medical records side-by-side, we will be able to present our case to the insurance company, demonstrating that you did not have heart disease before taking your job as a first responder and that now, after some time and the stress that you went through in your job, you have heart disease.
- The last step is to tell the insurance company about all of the ways that your life has been negatively impacted by your diagnosis of heart disease. We want to be able to show all the negative impacts of this diagnosis so that when you receive your workers’ compensation it will be full and fair.
Once our Florida workers’ compensation lawyers for first responders with heart disease can showcase all of the ways that you have been impacted by this diagnosis and how we believe that it’s related to your job as a first responder, we can tell the insurance company exactly what we want from them and put them on the defensive, forcing them have to essentially prove that our theory isn’t true, which is much harder for them and gives us a better chance of success.
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Higher Risk of Cardiac Arrest Among First Responders
If a first responder were to experience a cardiac event on the job, it would render them helpless. It is not ideal for first responders to need medical care while they are attending to an emergency situation. This is why our Florida workers’ compensation lawyers for first responders with heart disease encourage them to file their cases sooner rather than later to avoid situations like this. For instance, a firefighter attending to a burning building who suffers a heart attack would cause two emergencies on the scene. When untreated, heart disease gets worse and becomes a deadly disease, especially for first responders who have a high stakes job with lots of stress and high physical demand.
There is research going on into why there are so many first responders who have died on the job of heart-related issues, rather than the hazards of their jobs like car accidents or fire-related injuries or violent attacks. Firefighters are more likely to die of cardiac events than a non-firefighter, even though it is one of the most dangerous professions in the globe.
We see cases all of the time where a first responder hesitates to file their workers’ compensation claim because sometimes that means stepping away from their jobs and not being able to serve their community. If not getting the help that you need, however, means that you end up having a medical emergency while you’re responding to an emergency that you’re trying to take care of, then it’s all for naught. You need to take care of your health above all else if you want to continue to provide for your community.
Heart Related Health Issues
Research states that 20% of cardiac cases involve deaths from heart attacks. Additionally, 82% of these deaths have been linked to coronary heart disease, which can be described as arteries in the heart narrowing or hearts becoming enlarged.
The scary truth is that the stress and environment of first responders, in particular those responding to emergencies with smoke and burning chemicals in the air, can result in a higher risk of developing heart disease. This type of work involving extreme stress, extreme heat, exposure to smoke and diesel fumes, as well as the physical demands of the job, can trigger a cardiac event with those who have underlying disease. There is some evidence to point to a correlation between cardiac events with people who had underlying heart disease and jobs like first responders, where there is a high physical demand as well as high stress environment.
It is important for first responders who have underlying heart disease to seek the treatment that they need in order to prevent a cardiac event that could eventually result in their deaths if it goes untreated for a prolonged period of time. When people are in a stressful situation like most first responders see themselves, the amount of adrenaline can cause a heart attack or, worse, death.
How Blood Clots are Related to Firefighting
Firefighters are among the first responders who have an increased risk of blood clots, which can lead to more serious issues down the line. It is due to their exposure to extreme temperatures, their risk of having dehydration, coupled with low blood pressure and their blood rushing to the skin to keep the body cool. All these factors contribute to blood clots.
In scenarios like this when people are in extreme temperatures as well as having the added exertion of rescuing people from fires or putting out a fire, they need to take time to rehydrate and get their body temperature to regulate. Oftentimes, the stress of the job doesn’t give you the time to take care of yourself in between calls or to properly maintain your body temperature if you’re constantly exposed to extreme weather. It can be very dangerous when firefighters are put through this, and they suffer blood clots because of it.
If you believe that your diagnosis of heart disease, including blood clots or even strokes and heart attacks, could be related to your job as a firefighter or a first responder, please get into contact with our Florida workers’ compensation lawyers for responders with heart disease. We want to help you get your results in the fullest.
Call Our Florida Workers Compensation Lawyers for First Responders with Heart Disease Today
If your diagnosis of heart disease has made you believe that you suffer this due to your job as a first responder, we want to hear from you and give you the legal advice you need to get the compensation you require for your treatments. Our Florida workers’ compensation lawyers for first responders with heart disease would be more than happy to take your call and set up a free initial consultation where we will hear your story and get to work right away if you decide to hire us to represent you in your pursuit of full workers’ compensation. Call today to get started.
Frequently Asked Heart Disease Questions
Am I eligible for the heart and lung bill even though I didn’t miss time from work as a first responder?
Our firm was recently contacted by a Florida first responder who asked if he may be eligible for the Heart Bill, even though he did not miss time from work because of the hypertension or heart disease that he had. In that situation, he had actually had a visit to the hospital and been put on medication, but it was during his days off. He still is eligible for the first responder Heart Bill in Florida.
These types of cases are often improperly denied. Please call us at Oliver and Fox. We would be happy to discuss how to get you your benefits in this situation.
What is important to know about heart-related diseases that may qualify for workers’ comp for first responders in Florida?
We often speak at union halls and are questioned about the Heart/Lung Bill. Most of the union members do not know that there is a Heart Bill that gives a presumption that any hypertension or heart disease that a first responder in Florida may develop through their career may very well be covered, and medical care may have to be provided for the rest of their life, as well as potential lost wage and permanent impairment and impairment benefits.
Please call us at Oliver and Fox. We would be very happy to explain what benefits may be available to you under the Florida first responder Heart/Lung Bill.
What are the 4 elements of the heart and lung bill relative to first responder workers’ comp in Florida?
We are often asked, “How do we qualify for the Florida Heart/Lung Bill?” Florida first responders are entitled to coverage, medical care, for life, plus potential lost wages and impairment benefits if they do qualify. To qualify, you have to basically meet a four-prong test. You have to be part of the protected class, that being a first responder, a firefighter, a law enforcement officer of corrections. You have to have a clean pre-employment physical upon entering into service; that means your physical does not show any hypertension or heart disease. You have to then develop that condition of hypertension or heart disease, and that has to cause some inability to do your full job duties. If that has happened and if those four criteria are met, the presumption then shifts the burden to the employer and they have to prove that the condition is not work-related, and that is very difficult for them to do.
Please call us at Oliver and Fox. We’d be very happy to discuss how you may be eligible for benefits under the Heart/Lung Bill.
What is an occupational disease as it relates to first responders?
We were recently contacted by a personal injury attorney who was referring a physical injury for a Florida first responder, and he asked us a very good question as to what other types of injuries may be available for Florida first responders. We explained that there could be repetitive physical injuries, exposure types of claims. There’s presumption claims such as hypertension and heart disease. There’s mental health claims, PTSD, and cancer for firefighters.
If you have any of these types of claims, please call us at Oliver and Fox for a free consultation.
What conditions are presumed to be work-related for first responders in Florida?
We are often asked, with regard to fault in workers’ comp, whether you can still make a claim. The fault in workers’ comp should not matter. There are extenuating circumstances, but most of the time fault is not taken into account and workers’ compensation benefits are available regardless of whether you may be at fault or not, that includes, in a car accident for example, where you can be found at-fault for the car accident but still be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.
We often have multiple party types of accidents as well, where there could be a slip and fall, or a trip, or, again, like a motor vehicle accident, so whether you caused the accident, were a victim, or no one was at fault, you may be eligible for workers’ comp benefits. Please contact us at Oliver and Fox. We’d be very happy to discuss this with you.
What injuries and illnesses are covered for first responders in Florida?
We were talking to an attorney the other day that inquired as to what would constitute a workers’ compensation case, claim, or injury. There are many types of cases, many types of claims, especially for first responders. You can have just a regular physical injury; you can have a repetitive trauma injury, meaning knees, think carpal tunnel syndrome, and it can occur in your back or neck as well; you can also have heart/lung, high blood pressure, hypertension, heart disease. All of those are covered under special first responder statutes, the Heart/Lung Bill. There’s also cancer for firefighters and mental health, PTSD, for all first responders.
These benefits are available, and they do constitute workers’ compensation benefits. You may be entitled to benefits and just not be aware of it. Please feel free to contact us for a free consultation at Oliver and Fox.
How do I choose the best workers’ compensation attorney for first responders in Florida?
In choosing the right attorney to represent an injured first responder regarding a workers’ compensation claim, it’s important to select an attorney that is well-versed not only in workers’ comp, but also can handle the issues regarding the agency and potentially pension issues. A lot of times our clients come to us and they have injuries, and we are able to provide their benefits and put them back to work relatively easy and quickly with no issues. However, there are occasions when an injured first responder cannot return back to work, and this affects not only their employment but as well as potential pension issues within line-of-duty disability pension.
We invite you to call our firm so that we can discuss these options, whether your injury is relatively small or catastrophic, where we can help with those recommendations.
How long do I have to file a first responder workers’ compensation claim in Florida?
We had a client who reached out to us because he suffered an injury, and he wanted to know how long he had to report that claim. The answer to that question is very complicated in Florida because depending upon when the claim occurred, if treatment was provided or if notification was provided to a supervisor, the answer could vary. In addition, Florida has a requirement that on all compensable claims that you must treat one time per year in order to keep the claim open. Unfortunately, we see oftentimes and individual have a workers’ compensation claim, however those benefits lapse because they do not keep up with their annual treatment.
If you would like to reach out and contact us, we can tell you whether or not you have made a viable claim and, if your treatment has lapsed or if your treatment has not lapsed or even if it has lapsed, look at ways we can help assist you to make sure you’re getting medical care and benefits.
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