The Southwest Journal, a local newspaper in Southwest Minneapolis, recently reported on the development of a mindfulness and wellness program aimed at making Minneapolis cops “more compassionate” in response to the highly publicized shooting death of Minneapolis resident Justine Ruszczyk Damond. According to the article “before the end of the year, all 888 MPD officers will be required to take a three-hour training session designed to improve their health, wellness and sense of compassion”. When practiced regularly, mindfulness can be an effective tool with a lasting impact. The city is taking a step in the right direction by introducing mindfulness training and exercise, but should go a step further by incorporating it in an overall treatment plan to increase its effectiveness.

As of January 1, 2019, a new law has gone into effect that may drastically change the way work-related PTSD claims are handled in Minnesota. For PTSD injuries that occur on or after January 1, 2019, there is now a presumption for first responders that their PTSD is work-related. A first responder’s PTSD still must meet the criteria set forth in the DSM-V and be diagnosed by a doctor of psychology or a medical doctor working in a related field. The covered “first responder” positions include:

Meuser Law Office, P.A., was honored to be invited again this year to present at the annual Law Enforcement Labor Services (LELS) steward training that took place on Wednesday, October 8, 2018, in Vadnais Heights, Minnesota. Meuser Law Office, P.A. is proud to be a sponsor of this event.

Earlier this year, the Minnesota Legislature took a huge step, and passed legislation creating a workers’ compensation statutory presumption of PTSD for our state’s first responders. In other words, for certain workers in the state of Minnesota, including police officers, firefighters, corrections officers, and others defined as “first responders,” a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder is to be presumed to be work-related. The goal of this bill, authorized by Representative Nick Zerwas (R), and which had almost unanimous support in the legislature, was to eliminate barriers to quick, effective medical care for our State’s first responders suffering from PTSD.