(a) In the event a peace officer, a firefighter, a volunteer firefighter who is a member of an organized volunteer fire department registered with the Alabama Forestry Commission, or a rescue squad member is killed, either accidentally or deliberately, or dies as a result of injuries received while engaged in the performance of his or her duties, or dies as a direct and proximate result of a heart attack or stroke, his or her beneficiaries or dependents shall be entitled to compensation in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) to be paid from the State Treasury as provided in Section 36-30-3, unless such death was caused by the willful misconduct of the officer, firefighter, or rescue squad member or was due to his or her own intoxication or his or her willful failure or refusal to use safety appliances provided by his or her employer or his or her willful refusal or neglect to perform a statutory duty or any other willful violation of a law or his or her willful breach of a reasonable rule or regulation governing the performance of his or her duties or his or her employment of which rule or regulation he or she had knowledge. Any peace officer, firefighter, volunteer firefighter, or rescue squad member whose death results proximately from an injury received while performing his or her duties shall, for the purposes of this article, be deemed to have been killed while in the performance of such duties. If the State Health Officer determines from all available evidence that a volunteer firefighter, who is a member of an organized volunteer fire department registered with the Alabama Forestry Commission, has become totally disabled as a result of any injury received while engaged in the performance of his or her fire-fighting duties and the disability is likely to continue for more than 12 months from the date the injury is incurred, then the firefighter shall be entitled to receive disability compensation in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) to be paid from the State Treasury as provided in Section 36-30-3. The term total disability shall be interpreted to mean that the injured party is medically disabled to the extent that he or she cannot perform the duties of the job occupation or profession in which he or she was engaging at the time the injury was sustained. The State Health Officer may seek the assistance of any state agency in making the determination of disability and the state agencies shall cooperate with the State Health Officer in such regard. The State Health Officer shall render a decision within 30 days of the time a claim is filed. If such volunteer firefighter disagrees with any officer, he or she may appeal the determination to the State Board of Adjustment in accordance with such board's procedures for such appeals.
(b) Beginning in calendar year 2009, the compensation amounts payable under this section shall be adjusted on January 1 of each year to reflect any increase during the preceding calendar year in the consumer price index as published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. The adjustment shall equal the percentage change in the consumer price index during the preceding calendar year.
(c) Any person who currently serves or previously served as a firefighter or law enforcement peace officer who dies as a result of a firefighter's occupational disease as defined in Section 11-43-144 or 36-30-40, or law enforcement peace officer's occupational disease as defined in Section 36-30-20 shall be qualified for a state death benefit as provided in subsection (a) as if the person died in the performance of his or her duties, provided he or she satisfies the three years' service requirement and physical examination requirements set forth in Section 11-43-144, 36-30-22, or 36-30-41, respectively.
(d) Any application for the state death benefit that was submitted during the period from April 29, 2010, until May 27, 2015, and denied because the firefighter or law enforcement peace officer was no longer employed on the date of death may be resubmitted based on subsection (c) within six months of May 27, 2015, and reconsidered and granted by the awarding authority.
Last modified: May 3, 2021