Under existing law, with certain exceptions, an injury or disease sustained by an employee caused by stress is compensable under industrial insurance only if the employee can prove by clear and convincing medical or psychiatric evidence that: (1) the employee has a mental injury caused by extreme stress in time of danger; (2) the primary cause of the injury was an event that arose out of and during the course of his or her employment; and (3) the stress was not caused by a layoff, termination or disciplinary action. Existing law provides that a first responder may prove by clear and convincing medical or psychiatric evidence that the mental injury was primarily caused by the first responder witnessing an event of a certain specified type during the course of his or her employment. Under existing law, an ailment or disorder caused by any gradual mental stimulus or any death or disability ensuing therefrom is not compensable under industrial insurance. (NRS 616C.180) Section 1 of this bill expands the stress-related injuries that may be compensable under industrial insurance under certain circumstances to include a mental injury which afflicts a first responder and which is caused by extreme stress for which the primary cause was witnessing an event or series of events that arose out of and during the course of employment and involved: (1) the death, or aftermath of the death, of a person as a result of a violent event; or (2) an injury, or the aftermath of an injury, that involves grievous bodily harm of a nature that shocks the conscience.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 616C.180, 616C.400, 617.420
Reprint 1: 616C.180
Reprint 2: 616C.180
As Enrolled: 616C.180
BDR: 616C.180, 616C.400, 617.420