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Coverage: Lung Disease, Heart Disease, Infectious Disease, Cancer |
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| Code Part: North Dakota Statutes, Title 65 Workers Compensation, Chapter 65-01, General Provisions, Presumption of compensability for certain conditions of full paid firefighters and law enforcement officers §65-01-15.1 |
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Description:
65-01-15.1. Presumption of compensability for certain conditions of full-time paid firefighters and law enforcement officers. Any condition or impairment of health of a full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer caused by lung or respiratory disease, hypertension, heart disease, or an exposure to a bloodborne pathogen as defined by sections 23-07.5-01 occurring in the course of employment, or occupational cancer in a full-time paid firefighter, resulting in total or partial disability or death is presumed to have been suffered in the line of duty. The condition or impairment of health may not be attributed to any disease existing before that total or partial disability or death unless the contrary is shown by competent evidence. As used in this section, an occupational cancer is one which arises out of employment as a full-time paid firefighter and is due to injury due to exposure to smoke, fumes, or carcinogenic, poisonous, toxic, or chemical substances while in the performance of active duty as a full-time paid firefighter. A full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer is not eligible for the benefit provided under this section unless that full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer has completed five years of continuous service and has successfully passed a medical examination which fails to reveal any evidence of such a condition. An employer shall require a medical examination upon employment, for any employee subject to this section. After the initial medical examination, an employer shall require at least a periodic medical examination as follows: for one to ten years of service, every five years; for eleven to twenty years of service, every three years; and for twenty-one or more years of service, every year. The periodic medical examination, at a minimum, must consist of a general medical history of the individual and the individual's family; an occupational history including contact with and an exposure to hazardous materials, toxic products, contagious and infectious diseases, and to physical hazards; a physical examination including measurement of height, weight, and blood pressure; and laboratory and diagnostic procedures including a nonfasting total blood cholesterol test and papanicolaou smear for women. If the medical examination reveals that an employee falls into a recognized risk group, the employee must be referred to a qualified health professional for future medical examination. This section does not affect an employee's responsibility to document that the employee has not used tobacco as required under section 65-01-15. Results of the examination must be used in rebuttal to a presumption afforded under this section. For purposes of this section, "law enforcement officer" means a person who is licensed to perform peace officer law enforcement duties under chapter 12-63 and is employed full time by the bureau of criminal investigation, the game and fish department, the state highway patrol, the parole and probation division, the North Dakota state university police department, the North Dakota state college of science police department, the university of North Dakota police department, a county sheriff's department, or a city police department. The presumption does not include a condition or impairment of health of a full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer, who has been employed for ten years or less, if the condition or impairment is diagnosed more than two years after the employment as a full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer ends. The presumption also does not include a condition or impairment of health of a full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer, who has been employed more than ten years, if the condition or impairment is diagnosed more than five years after the employment as a full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer ends.
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 North Dakota Legislative Web Site |
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