Like any other employee who is injured while at work, police and firefighters are authorized by the same laws, which provide for injury-on-duty wages, to bring claims for their injuries against the responsible third parties.

Public safety officers are usually surprised to learn they can collect tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to compensate them for the harms and losses that result from injuries, which occur while on duty. To name a few, injuries suffered during stolen car pursuits, resisting arrest, foot chases, falls on premises, and injuries suffered while fighting a negligently caused fire.

Public service officers are not second class citizens in the eyes of the law. They have the same rights as any other citizen to be compensated for the various harms and losses which result from their injuries on duty. Injured public safety officers often believe their superiors will be upset with them if they make such claims or making such a claim will be a waste of time. Twenty-five years of success on these cases across the Commonwealth has proven otherwise. It benefits the entire community whenever a person or entity is held financially accountable for irresponsibly injuring one of our public safety officers.

For more information about your rights when injured on duty, please feel free to email or call me with any questions.

– Steven M. Ballin, Esq.