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Heart Disease Presumption For Police, Fire Fighters and Sheriffs

Police, fire fighters and some sheriffs have a special provision of occupational disease law that benefits them. Any heart disease or hypertension they suffer from is presumed to be caused by their employment. It is up to their employer or insurer to prove it is not. Recent development in the case law has made it more difficult for them to do so because their physician may not testify that he or she does not believe the presumption is valid (we won this case on appeal). This presumption extends into retirement (another case we won in the Maryland Court of Appeals).

Your employer will go to great lengths to try to defeat these claims because the benefits you may be entitled to are potentially huge. Therefore, if you suffer from any form of heart disease you should contact us immediately. There are deadlines to file these claims, and issues as to when is the appropriate time to do so. These issues must be determined with the assistance of competent legal advice.

Separate issues exist for sheriffs and volunteer fire fighters with regard to when they are eligible to make a claim. Some job classifications require pre-employment physicals. Furthermore, not all sheriffs from all counties are covered under the presumption. If your county maintains a separate police force, unless you are a sheriff in Montgomery or Prince George's County, you may not be covered under the presumption. Please contact us for information with regard to this issue