If you are wondering why more police officers in Minneapolis are sporting moustaches this month, some shifts on the Minneapolis Police Department are raising money for Soldier’s 6. Soldier’s 6 is a Minnesota non-profit organization that provides Veterans and police officers who suffer from service-related Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with service dogs. For people suffering from PTSD, service dogs give them more than comfort, they may save their lives. Soldier’s 6 chose its name because the service dog is the Veteran or officer’s battle buddy who has their “6” or back. PTSD service dogs may be trained to wake a veteran or police officer from a nightmare, remind them to take medication, physically interrupt a panic attack, and relieve stress and anxiety that escalate PTSD symptoms. Check out www.soldiers6.com to make donations and support this important organization.

Police officers or firefighters who sustain injuries in the line of duty with a third-party civil claim component to their claims, may be faced with the question if PERA and MSRS Duty Disability benefits should be offset from their wage loss recovery. Typically, workers who sustain injuries arising out of the course and scope of his or her employment may not bring a claim for negligence, meaning he or she may only have a claim for limited benefits under the Workers’ Compensation Act paid by the entity’s insurer or the entity itself if the City is self-insured for the purposes of workers’ compensation. If an injured worker is a police officer or a firefighter, and the injury is sustained while performing inherently dangerous duties specific to the public service position then he or she may also have a PERA or MSRS Duty Disability claim for benefits. If someone can demonstrate that a person or business other than the employer is the cause of the injury, then the claimant may bring a claim as against that the person responsible who acted carelessly or unreasonably. At Meuser Law Office, P.A. we have brought claims on behalf of firefighters who have been injured by negligent construction of buildings, police officers who have been injured in motor vehicle collisions, and police officers injured by suspects resisting arrest.

1. Arrive on the correct date and time. Wandering in late does not endear you to the attorneys and plants a healthy fear in us as well as a hope in the defense counsel that you will decide not to show up on time for court hearings.

1. Working “light duty” with date of injury employer

When you sustain an injury at work and have been released to return to work in some capacity by your treating physician, you are able to return to work while continuing to make a workers’ compensation claim. The first place you will want to look for a job is with your date of injury employer. Your employer does not have an obligation to offer you a “light duty” job under the Workers’ Compensation Act, or any other law; however, Minnesota law expressly prohibit employers from discriminating or retaliating against an employee who has suffered a work injury or has made a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. In order to ensure that they do not violate Minnesota law, employers will many times look into making reasonable accommodations for an injured employee. In practice, this may mean that an employer may offer you a temporary, modified position, within your physical restrictions, until such time as you are released to full-duty work.