3. Causation – an “officer” is only
deemed to have suffered a “personal injury sustained in the line of duty,” a statutory prerequisite of a PSOB death claim, if the death happened “as a direct and proximate result of a heart attack or stroke. 42 USC §3796. 4. Qualifying Activities – The pre-
sumption applies only if the officer was “engaged in a situation, and such en- gagement involved non-routine stressful or strenuous physical law enforcement, fire suppression, rescue, hazardous material response, emergency medical services, prison security, disaster relief, or other emergency activity” or while participating “in a training exercise, and
such participation involved non-routine stressful or strenuous physical activity. 42 USC § 3796. Qualifying activities do not include “actions of a clerical, ad- ministrative, or non-manual nature.” 42 USC §3796. A 2007 Justice Department directive offers insight into what the decision makers regard as “non-routine.” “No activity,” it begins, “shall be under- stood as routine solely by virtue of being described by the public safety agency as ‘routine’ or ‘ordinary.’” Rather, when gauging “routiness,” the “determination rests less on the frequency with which it may be performed than by its stressful or strenuous character.” “Responding to an emergency call,” it counsels further,
“shall presumptively be treated as non- routine.” With regard to the going and coming rule, “authorized commuting,” use of an official vehicle or a personal one for official use, is covered. 28 C.F.R. 32.2. 5. On Duty or within 24 Hours: The
presumption applies if the officer died as a result of a heart attack or stroke suffered “while engaging or participat- ing” in the qualifying activities, “while still on duty after participating,” or “not later than 24 hours after so engaging or participating.” Id. 6. Rebutting Evidence – The presump-
tion can be “overcome by competent medical evidence to the contrary.” Id. The same October 2007 PSOB directive offers insight into when an applicant will be met with a request for medical documentation, perhaps to rebut the presumption. If “there is nothing in the claim file that affirmatively suggests that something other than the line-of- duty heart activity may have caused the fatal heart attack or stroke, or that it was more likely than not that the hart attack or stroke would was imminent, no medical history records shall be requested of the claimant.” In reaching this “affirmative suggestion,” the “mere presence of cardio vascular disease risk factors (even extremely severe), shall not be considered unless information in the claim file itself affirmatively sug- gests that the claimant’s decedent – (a) actually knew or should have known of such a presence; and (b) appears to have worsened or aggravated the same by his own intentional or reckless be- havior.” The records, when requested, the bulletin advises, will be “reviewed for mitigating evidence in favor of the claim.” When there is a medical records request from the Board, except in “rare circumstances,” the request will be for up to “three years of history.” 7. Beneficiaries – Unlike Maryland
Workers’ Compensation, which condi- tions survivors’ benefits on degrees of dependency, the PSOB creates classed of beneficiaries, according to the rela- tionships between the claimants and the deceased. For example, if there is a
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