May I borrow a Firefighter Por Favor

Question: Can the City of Hartford be reimbursed for outlay of workers’ comp benefits to Hartford firefighter injured while fighting fire in West Hartford.

Here’s What Happened

The West Hartford fire department responded to a call at a complex of apartments and condominiums in West Hartford where a significant fire broke out. The size and ferocity of the blaze was beyond the department resources.

As is common in these cases, a request for reciprocity was made by the officer on the scene from the City of Hartford's (the City) fire department.

Derrane, a Hartford firefighter, was dispatched along with other members of his unit to help fight the blaze in keeping with the municipality’s oral mutual aid agreement. Derrane was injured in the course of the event. He sought and received workers' compensation benefits from the City.

The City, in turn, sought reimbursement from West Hartford under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-433d, stating generally when a uniformed member of a paid fire department offers his or her services to another fire company actively engaged in fire duties and the firefighter is injured, he or she is entitled to receive benefits as if he or she were a member of the fire department utilizing his or her services.

West Hartford was ordered to reimburse the City for indemnity and medical benefits paid, and to assume liability for the remainder of the Derrane's claim. The decision was reversed by the Review Board and The City appealed.

Here's What the Court Decided

In Derrane v. City of Hartford, 295 Conn. 35, 2010 Conn. LEXIS 56 (Mar. 2, 2010), the Supreme Court of Connecticut affirmed the decision of the Review Board.

The court indicated § 7-433d applied only in good Samaritan situations wherein an individual firefighter happened upon a fire in a municipality other than his own, offered his services to the fire department in that municipality, which thereafter accepted the offer of services, and the firefighter was injured while fighting the fire.

The court said that here, Derrane was injured while working his regular shift, in a place he was ordered to be by his superiors, and while performing firefighting duties under their direction and command. (workersxzcompxzkit)

Concluding that § 7-433d did not apply to mutual aid requests handled by paid firefighters, the court indicated Derrane was engaged in activity "arising out of and in the course of his employment" at the time of his injury, and his employer, the City, was liable for workers' compensation benefits without right to reimbursement from West Hartford.

See generally Larson's Workers' Compensation Law, §§ 67.03, 67.06, 78.04.

Tom Robinson, J.D. is the primary upkeep writer for Larson's Workers' Compensation Law (LexisNexis) and Larson's Workers' Compensation, Desk Edition (LexisNexis). He is a contributing writer for California Compensation Cases (LexisNexis) and Benefits Review Board – Longshore Reporter(LexisNexis), and is a contributing author to New York Workers' Compensation Handbook(LexisNexis). Robinson is an authority in the area of workers' compensation and we are happy to have him as a Guest Contributor to Workers' Comp Kit Blog. Tom can be reached at: [email protected]. http://law.lexisnexis.com/practiceareas/Workers-Compensation