APPROVED CHAPTER
JULY 26, 2023 445
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-THREE
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S.P. 457 - L.D. 1123
An Act to Create a Presumption Under the Maine Workers' Compensation
Act of 1992 That a Cardiovascular Injury or Disease or Pulmonary Disease
Suffered by Certain Law Enforcement Officers Is in the Course of
Employment
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 39-A MRSA §328-D is enacted to read:
§328-D. Cardiovascular injury or disease and pulmonary disease suffered by a law
enforcement officer or resulting in a law enforcement officer's death
Cardiovascular injury or disease and pulmonary disease suffered by a law enforcement
officer or resulting in a law enforcement officer's death are governed by this section.
1. Law enforcement officer defined. For the purposes of this section, "law
enforcement officer" means an active member of a law enforcement agency, as defined in
Title 5, section 4651, if the person is vested by law with the power to make arrests for
crimes or serve criminal process, whether that power extends to all crimes or is limited to
specific crimes and if the person holds a current and valid certificate issued by the Board
of Trustees of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy pursuant to Title 25, section 2803-A.
2. Presumption. There is a rebuttable presumption that a law enforcement officer
received the injury or contracted the disease arising out of and in the course of employment,
that sufficient notice of the injury or disease has been given and that the injury or disease
was not occasioned by the willful intention of the law enforcement officer to cause self-
injury or injury to another if the law enforcement officer has been an active member of a
law enforcement agency, as defined in Title 5, section 4651, for at least 2 years prior to a
cardiovascular injury or the onset of a cardiovascular disease or pulmonary disease and if:
A. The disease has developed or the injury has occurred within 6 months of having
participated in law enforcement activities or in a training or drill that involved law
enforcement activities; or
B. The law enforcement officer had developed the disease or had suffered the injury
that resulted in death within 6 months of having participated in law enforcement
activities or in a training or drill that involved law enforcement activities.
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