aforementioned and similar cases. The Committee for Justice for Bill and Scott consists of more than a dozen first responders, including law enforcement, fire and EMS providers with an aggregate career and volunteer service experience of more than 500 person years. The team also includes a current freeholder director, four former mayors and the state legislative chair for the NJ EMS Council / NJSFAC. Also included are members of the NJSPBA, the FMBA, FOP and NJSACOP.
The NJ State Firemen’ s Association has been broadly contacted through committee / team members attending and informing more than 500 firefighters representing over 100 fire departments, both career and volunteer.
The committee / team has contacted subject-matter experts, including a college professor, a forensic psychologist / attorney and at least seven attorneys with first-responder experience.
The insurance industry is intransigent. Insurance investigators at the first level do their due diligence finding for the workmen’ s spouse and recommending payment. The file is then“ elevated” to an overseeing insurance carrier to see if the presumption can be rebutted and they seek irrelevant information, delaying the process. Files are frequently transferred without reason as yet more irrelevant information is sought. Delays also exist in the administration of administrative law due to personnel and volume issues. Cases are frequently postponed.
The respective governing bodies and municipal professionals distance themselves from the issue, saying it is a matter of litigation. No! It is a matter of moral responsibility and law. There have been attempts to enforce“ gag orders” on fellow volunteers. Municipalities consider the impact of increased risk on future insurance costs over and above loyalty to their dedicated volunteer’ s family. Some towns even have local officials on insurance risk panels.
Career police and firefighter unions do not stand for the delays that survivors of volunteers experience.
ACTION GOALS
The efforts of the committee / team of first-responder volunteers to find a solution include the following: Legislative: Contact is being made to have the state legislators introduce legislation to modify Title 34( Workmen’ s Compensation Act) to limit the ability to rebut to elements found elsewhere in workmen’ s compensation law( e. g., horseplay, skylarking, self-infliction, illegal drug use, voluntary intoxication) and then put a time limit of six months from the time of notification for insurance companies to make a determination. Any decision against the interests of a petitioner would be appealable. Investigative: A complaint was sent on July 27 to the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, commissioner of Banking and Insurance, commissioner of Health and Senior Services, and the administrative office of the courts. They were asked to investigate this deplorable situation. Particular attention will be requested on intentional acts and patterns of procrastination. Also, differential treatment needs to be examined. First-responder awareness: Statewide organizations— particularly non-unionized volunteer groups— will be contacted for support and for the expansion of the database of pending cases. Public awareness: Since there is a potential for these delays to have an impact on emergency services in the areas of recruitment and retention of volunteers and subsequently responses, the community has a right to know that the workmen’ s compensation situation is seriously flawed. The public will be asked to contact their municipal, county and state officials in an effort to right the ship. d
Eskil S. Danielson has been a public safety professional for five decades. He holds degrees from Lehigh University and John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He graduated from the NJSP Municipal Police Academy and the FBI National Academy. He can be reached at 4billscott @ gmail. com. www. njcopsmagazine. com ■ AUGUST 2017 51