Officers are well versed in the legal rights of those they arrest and detain. Yet, I routinely find police officers who are unaware of their own rights when they are injured. These officers had formed wrong impressions about their rights, which prevented them from seeking just compensation for past injuries suffered. Police officers should know the truth about their own rights, when those whom they detain and arrest injure them. In 1597 Sir Francis Bacon coined the phrase “Knowledge is power.” If any member of our society deserves to have such “knowledge” and “power”, it is those who are injured while serving and protecting us from danger. However, our society does not routinely compensate injured officers for their various damages and losses. Your legal rights to make claims against those who injure you can make up for these losses and damages, as a supplement to your statutory injury benefits. For example, such claims may recover the lost detail and overtime pay which was counted on to support the officer and his family in the past.
In just 20 minutes, you can have the “knowledge” and the “power” to begin helping yourself, if you are ever injured on duty, by learning the truth about your rights at a legal workshop I have designed for you. By simply arranging for this short legal workshop conducted during your local meetings, I will provide you with the knowledge you need to start protecting yourselves and your families in the event of a future injury on duty. For years I have conducted legal workshops for the police associations and unions throughout Massachusetts about injured officers’ rights to make claims for additional compensation, as well as steps officers should take now to protect themselves for the future. I cover many helpful tips about how to proceed and conduct yourself in the days and weeks following an injury on duty.
Each year for the past several years over a thousand officers attend this important legal workshop. These officers have been surprised by how many rights are afforded to them. For example, one officer who attended this workshop was injured on duty several months later. He suffered a fractured hand in response to a 911 call to remove an out-of-control household member. As a result, he lost valuable overtime and detail pay while he remained out of work. Before the workshop, he did not know he had a right to make a claim in connection with this type of incident or how such a claim could be made. As a result of making a claim, we were able to recover $100,000 to compensate him for his losses.
Similarly, many officers attending this legal workshop had no idea about how helpful these claims can be in a variety of settings such as foot pursuits, resisting arrest, domestic violence responses and stolen vehicle pursuits. Officers who attend these legal workshops are surprised to learn the truth about their rights and how they had labored for years under misconceptions which prevented them and their fellow officers from exercising their legal right to make such claims in the past. These misconceptions often include the mistaken notion that such claims are wrong or will upset superiors, be a waste of time or that all the money will end up going to the attorney and the department. Other officers mistakenly believe they had no right to make such claims or that the receipt of injury on duty benefits disqualified them from making such claims. Finally, many had the mistaken belief that their own department or fellow officers would have claims made against them or that they had to remain out of work in order to make a successful claim.
Annual meetings are always good time to schedule such a workshop as attendance is often high. Additionally, we have found winter is the best time to schedule a 20 minute legal workshop during a regularly scheduled local association or union meeting. There are not as many road details available, there are fewer outdoor activities scheduled due to the weather, and, as a result, attendance at these meetings is typically higher. This short lecture informs police officers the truth about their rights when injured, and highlights the important steps to take now to protect yourself and your family for the future. A few of the topics covered during this 20 minute legal workshop are:
This informative seminar will fit conveniently within your regularly scheduled or annual meeting, no expense is involved and informative materials are distributed. If your local union or association wishes, I can make the seminar more in-depth and include a question/answer session as well.