Connecticut PTSD first responder bill amended

The Connecticut Senate on Wednesday introduced last-minute amendments to a bill that would provide workers compensation to first responders diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Proponents of S.B. 164 have hailed the legislation as a compromise between unions and first responders, who call the benefits necessary, and municipalities that worry comp costs would increase dramatically.

The bill lists a number of qualifying events — such as witnessing a death or seeing the dead body of a minor — that would make a mental injury compensable.

The new amendment expanded the language of those who would qualify for benefits to more categories of first responders, including “parole officers” and “emergency medical responders.”

Because the amendment was introduced less than a week after the legislative season ends on June 5, proponents worry the bill would die before it is passed, as has been the case over the past six years, according to media reports.