First Responders Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Is Now Presumed Work Related
The Canadian province of Ontario has passed legislation that will create a presumption that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosed in first responders is work-related. Evidence has shown that first responders are at least twice as likely compared to the general population to suffer from PTSD, due to the risk of frequent exposure to traumatic stress.
Under the Supporting Ontario’s First Responders Act, the presumption allows for faster access to WSIB benefits, resources and timely treatment. Once a first responder is diagnosed with PTSD by either a psychiatrist or a psychologist, the claims process to be eligible for WSIB benefits will be expedited, without the need to prove a causal link between PTSD and a workplace event.
The presumption applies to police officers, firefighters, paramedics, certain workers in correctional institutions and secure youth justice facilities, dispatchers of police, firefighter and ambulance services, and emergency response teams.
The act also allows the Minister of Labour to request and publish PTSD prevention plans from employers of workers who are covered by the presumption.
This act is part of the province’s strategy to prevent or mitigate the risk of PTSD and provide Ontario’s 73,000 first responders with faster access to treatment and the information they need to stay healthy.