California firefighters are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, which provide medical care, wage replacement, and other benefits to employees injured or become ill on the job, just like other regular employees in California. However, California firefighters are also offered specific benefits due to the dangers inherent and ever-present in their occupation. The attorneys at Eason & Tambornini have extensive experience with workers’ compensation cases in California and have helped thousands of people navigate the system.
Specific Firefighter Benefits
Benefits specific to firefighters under California’s workers’ compensation system are in place to protect firefighters from typical, job-specific dangers they often face due to their occupation. These include:
- Additional Compensation: Firefighters are eligible to receive one full year of salary during a leave of absence following a work-related injury or illness, compared to only two-thirds of their salary offered to other occupations.
- Presumptive injuries: The workers’ compensation program for firefighters in California covers injuries that are so common and specific to their jobs that sometimes, the burden of proof (proving an injury) becomes the employer’s responsibility, not the employee’s. Therefore, an employer must prove an injury was not job-related instead of an employee proving an injury was job-related.
One example is lung cancer, which is typical for firefighters due to the frequent presence of smoke and other known carcinogens in burning structures. According to California law, a firefighter’s diagnosis of lung cancer is presumed to be job-related.
Other regular workers’ compensation benefits, which most employees in California are eligible for, include:
- Medical Care: Workers’ compensation typically covers necessary medical treatment costs related to workplace injury or illness. Medical expenses include doctor appointments, emergency room visits, overnight hospital stays, surgeries, medications, physical therapy, and physical therapy and rehabilitation services.
- Temporary Disability Benefits: Employees who cannot work because of work-related injury or illness could be eligible for temporary benefits, which provide wage replacement, most often at two-thirds of a person’s average weekly earnings. Temporary benefits can have maximum and minimum limits.
- Permanent Disability Benefits: If permanent impairment or disability results from a workplace injury, an employee, including firefighters, may qualify for permanent disability benefits. Various factors, such as the severity of the disability and pre-injury wages, can affect the amount of compensation.
- Supplemental Job Displacement Benefits: If an employee’s injury or illness prevents them from returning to the prior job, supplemental job displacement benefits can offer help for retraining or help someone find a new job.
- Death Benefits: If any employee, including a firefighter, dies due to a work-related injury or illness, their dependents may be entitled to death benefits, which can cover burial expenses and provide ongoing financial support.
Common On-The-Job Injuries for Firefighters
Due to the nature of their work, some of the most common injuries for firefighters include:
- Burns
- Smoke inhalation
- Strains and sprains, as well as other soft tissue injuries
- Fractures
- Heat exhaustion
- Head trauma
- Falls and slips
- Abrasions
Other interesting facts regarding firefighter workplace injuries are when and where the injury happens or what the illness results from. According to 2017 data compiled by FEMA, the breakdown of firefighter injuries on the job looked like this:
- 42% happened at the fire site
- 21% occurred at non-fire emergency incidents
- 16% were due to miscellaneous on-duty activities
- 14% happened during training activities
- 8% occurred while going to or returning from an incident
Suppose you’re a firefighter in California and have been injured or become ill due to a workplace condition. In that case, it’s wise to seek an experienced workers’ compensation attorney who understands the nuances of the first responder’s benefits in California. Eason & Tambornini workers’ comp attorneys have been helping California employees, including firefighters, recover benefits from workplace-related injuries and illnesses for over 25 years. Call us today at (916) 438-1819 for a FREE, no-obligation consultation.
