HB 1261 Summary

• Amends the definition of "compensable injury" to require that mental stimulus-related injuries (heart attack, stroke, physical injury caused by mental stimulus) meet a threshold where unusual stress is at least fifty percent of the cause compared to all other contributing causes combined, with reasonable medical certainty.

• Removes exclusion of "mental injury arising from mental stimulus" from the list of non-compensable injuries under workers' compensation law.

• Establishes a presumption of compensability for volunteer firefighters, emergency or disaster volunteers, community emergency response team members, and volunteer health practitioners who experience heart attack, heart-related disease, stroke, or mental stimulus-related physical injury within twenty-four hours of performing volunteer services or training.

• Modifies how average weekly wage is determined for volunteers by using the greater of the claimant's business or employment income or the state's average weekly wage, regardless of whether coverage was secured.

• Applies prospectively to injuries occurring on or after the effective date of the Act.