AboutMargot RN BScN GNC Expertise Please feel free to ask anything, but the more specific you are, the easier it is for me. Please share as many details as you are comfortable doing. I do check my Emails daily Monday through Friday so you should receive an answer within 24 hours on most business days. Thanks.
Experience I have 18 years experience as a Small Business Owner-Operator; I own a Nursing Agency so often deal with both employee and client injuries. I would be pleased to offer any assistance I can. If I can not answer your question I'll do my best to direct you to an appropriate resource. Thank you. Experience in the area 20 years of Long Term Care and Community Nursing, specialising in Geriatrics, Gerontology and PalliativeCare.
Education/Credentials Registered Nurse , Certified Gerontological Nurse, Bachelor of Science in Nursing >
Question Hi Margot, I hope you can shine some light on this subject. I was recently injured while volunteering as a fireman, I received a concussion and a cervical injury. My first four vertebrate and my first rib were injured due to a falling debris in a warehouse fire. I am a career firefighter in a local city also. I have been out of work for a week now and the doctors are advising that it may take another month or so before I may feel well enough to return. My concern is that I am using all of my sick time for this injury that in my opinion should be a workmans comp situation. Why am I losing all of my accrued time which converts into me trading my sick days for pay. I shouldn't be financially responsible for my injury, should I? I am losing wages due to overtime and shift differential also. The firefighters are considered boro employees when they involved in firefighting activities. When I completed the injury report and inquired about compensation, they said, well, you're still being paid at work, you can't get compensation. Can you tell me how to get paid back for my use of sick time? Or at least how to get some compensation for my injury from someone other than myself? I feel like I am really getting screwed here. I am in NJ if you are able to provide any exact info regarding state laws or statutes.
Answer Hi Dan and thanks for writing,
I think the challenge is that you were injured while volunteering, not while on the paid and insured job.
My only advice is to carefully read the documents you signed when you became a volunteer fireman as well as your union coverage to see what, if anything, it says about coverage for injuries incurred outside of the paid & insured job. You might also invest a few dollars to speak to a lawyer in NJ who specializes in Workers Comp cases as the laws and regulations vary so widely state to state; even if you're not directly covered at work, there may be a state regulation that you fall under.
Short of finding coverage for"off the job injuries" either in your union insurance or at the state level, you may just be out of luck. Even though it happened while fire fighting, it was still on your own time and this is probably why you do not qualify unless you took out your own private insurance to cover your volunteering activities (which you obviously should look into for the future).
I hope this helps answer your question, sorry I don't have better news for you.
