Wislocki v. Town of Prospect
Wislocki v. Town of Prospect
Opinion of the Court
The only issue in this certified appeal is whether an injured volunteer firefighter is eligible
The plaintiffs claim that he is entitled to concurrent employment benefits cannot be sustained in light of our decision in Going v. Cromwell Fire District, 159 Conn. 53, 267 A.2d 428 (1970). In Going, we held that an injured volunteer firefighter does not come within the terms of the concurrent employment provisions of § 31-310. Id., 58. We concluded that, although General Statutes (Cum. Sup. 1967) § 7-314a (a) (2)
The judgment is affirmed.
The other defendants are Travelers Insurance Company and the Second Injury and Compensation Assurance Fund.
General Statutes § 7-314a provides in relevant part: “death, disability and injury benefits, presumption, (a) Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, active members of volunteer fire departments shall be construed to be employees of the municipality for the benefit of which volunteer fire services are rendered while in training or engaged in volunteer fire duty and shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the workers’ compensation commission and shall be compensated in accordance with the provisions of chapter 568 for death, disability or injury incurred while in training for or engaged in volunteer fire duty.
“(b) For the purpose of this section, the average weekly wage of a volunteer fireman shall be construed to be the average production wage in the state as determined by the labor commissioner under the provisions of section 31-309.”
General Statutes § 31-310 provides: “determination of average WEEKLY WAGE OF INJURED WORKER. CONCURRENT EMPLOYMENT. PAYMENTS from second injury fund. For the purposes of this chapter, the average weekly wage shall be ascertained by dividing the total wages received by the injured worker from the employer in whose service he is injured during the twenty-six calendar weeks immediately preceding that during which he was injured, by the number of calendar weeks during which, or any portion of which, such worker was actually employed by such employer, but, in making such computation, absence for seven consecutive calendar days, although not in the same calendar week, shall be considered as absence for a calendar week. When the employment commenced otherwise than at the beginning of a calendar week, such calendar week and wages earned during such week shall be excluded in making the above computation. When the employment previous to injury as provided above is computed to be less than a net period of two calendar weeks, his weekly wage shall be considered to be equivalent to the average weekly wage
The certified question was: “Is a volunteer fire fighter eligible for benefits under General Statutes § 7-314a also eligible for concurrent employment benefits pursuant to General Statutes § 31-310?” Wislocki v. Prospect, 223 Conn. 911, 612 A.2d 58 (1992).
General Statutes (Cum. Sup. 1967) § 7-314a (a) (2) is the predecessor of the current § 7-314a (a). See Public Acts 1967, No. 892, § 2. Section 7-314a (a) (2) provided in pertinent part: “death, disability and injury benefits, (a) Active members of volunteer fire departments shall be compensated for death, disability or injury ... as follows ... (2) all other volunteer firemen who are not such public employees [for whom compensation is provided by general or special law] shall be construed to be employees of the municipality for the benefit of which volunteer fire services are rendered while in training or engaged in volunteer fire duty and shall be compensated in accordance with the provisions of chapter 568. . . .”
The amendment, Public Acts 1969, No. 464, § 1, which changed the statute in a number of respects, did not affect the proceedings in Going v. Cromwell Fire District, 159 Conn. 53, 267 A.2d 428 (1970), because in that case the volunteer firefighter had sustained his accidental injuries in 1968. Id., 55.
The 1969 amendment also added General Statutes § 7-314a (d), which provides: “For the purpose of adjudication of claims for the payment of benefits under the provisions of chapter 568, any condition of impairment of health occurring to an active member of a volunteer fire department while such member is in training for or engaged in volunteer fire duty, caused by hypertension or heart disease resulting in death or temporary or permanent total or partial disability, shall be presumed to have been suffered in the line of duty and within the scope of his employment, provided such member had previously successfully passed a physical examination by a licensed physician appointed by such department which examination failed to reveal any evidence of such condition.”
Section 7-314a was amended again in 1989, adding subsection (e), which provides: “Any member of a volunteer fire company or department performing fire duties pursuant to a mutual aid understanding between municipalities shall be entitled to all benefits pursuant to this section and shall be construed to be an employee of the municipality in which his fire company or department is located.” See Public Acts 1989, No. 89-22, § 2. Because the plaintiff sustained his injury in 1988, however, the 1989 amendment is not relevant in this case.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Ronald Wislocki v. Town of Prospect
- Status
- Published