2023 Maryland Statutes › Labor and Employment › Title 9 - Workers' Compensation › Subtitle 5 - Entitlement to and Liability for Compensation › Section 9-503 - Occupational Disease -- Presumption -- Firefighters, Fire Fighting Instructors, Rescue Squad Members, Advanced Life Support Unit Members, and Police Officers

(a)    A paid firefighter, paid fire fighting instructor, paid rescue squad member, paid advanced life support unit member, or sworn member of the Office of the State Fire Marshal employed by an airport authority, a county, a fire control district, a municipality, or the State or a volunteer firefighter, volunteer fire fighting instructor, volunteer rescue squad member, or volunteer advanced life support unit member who is a covered employee under § 9–234 of this title is presumed to have an occupational disease that was suffered in the line of duty and is compensable under this title if:
(1)    the individual has heart disease, hypertension, or lung disease;
(2)    the heart disease, hypertension, or lung disease results in partial or total disability or death; and
(3)    in the case of a volunteer firefighter, volunteer fire fighting instructor, volunteer rescue squad member, or volunteer advanced life support unit member, the individual has met a suitable standard of physical examination before becoming a firefighter, fire fighting instructor, rescue squad member, or advanced life support unit member.
(b)    (1)    A paid police officer employed by an airport authority, a county, the Maryland–National Capital Park and Planning Commission, a municipality, or the State, a deputy sheriff of Montgomery County, or, subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, a deputy sheriff of Anne Arundel County, Anne Arundel County detention officer, deputy sheriff of Baltimore City, Montgomery County correctional officer, Prince George’s County deputy sheriff, Prince George’s County correctional officer, or deputy sheriff of Allegany County is presumed to be suffering from an occupational disease that was suffered in the line of duty and is compensable under this title if:
(i)    the police officer, deputy sheriff, or correctional officer is suffering from heart disease or hypertension; and
(ii)    the heart disease or hypertension results in partial or total disability or death.
(2)    (i)    A deputy sheriff of Anne Arundel County, Anne Arundel County detention officer, deputy sheriff of Baltimore City, Montgomery County correctional officer, Prince George’s County deputy sheriff, or Prince George’s County correctional officer is entitled to the presumption under this subsection only to the extent that the individual suffers from heart disease or hypertension that is more severe than the individual’s heart disease or hypertension condition existing prior to the individual’s employment as a deputy sheriff of Anne Arundel County, Anne Arundel County detention officer, deputy sheriff of Baltimore City, Montgomery County correctional officer, Prince George’s County deputy sheriff, or Prince George’s County correctional officer.
(ii)    To be eligible for the presumption under this subsection, a deputy sheriff of Anne Arundel County, Anne Arundel County detention officer, deputy sheriff of Baltimore City, Montgomery County correctional officer, Prince George’s County deputy sheriff, or Prince George’s County correctional officer, as a condition of employment, shall submit to a medical examination to determine any heart disease or hypertension condition existing prior to the individual’s employment as a deputy sheriff of Anne Arundel County, Anne Arundel County detention officer, deputy sheriff of Baltimore City, Montgomery County correctional officer, Prince George’s County deputy sheriff, or Prince George’s County correctional officer.
(c)    A paid firefighter, paid fire fighting instructor, paid rescue squad member, paid advanced life support unit member, or a sworn member of the Office of the State Fire Marshal employed by an airport authority, a county, a fire control district, a municipality, or the State or a volunteer firefighter, volunteer fire fighting instructor, volunteer rescue squad member, or volunteer advanced life support unit member who is a covered employee under § 9–234 of this title is presumed to be suffering from an occupational disease that was suffered in the line of duty and is compensable under this title if:
(1)    the individual has leukemia or prostate, rectal, throat, multiple myeloma, non–Hodgkin’s lymphoma, brain, testicular, bladder, kidney or renal cell, or breast cancer that is caused by contact with a toxic substance that the individual has encountered in the line of duty;
(2)    the individual has completed at least 10 years of cumulative service within the State as a firefighter, a fire fighting instructor, a rescue squad member, or an advanced life support unit member or in a combination of those jobs;
(3)    the cancer or leukemia results in partial or total disability or death; and
(4)    in the case of a volunteer firefighter, volunteer fire fighting instructor, volunteer rescue squad member, or volunteer advanced life support unit member, the individual has met a suitable standard of physical examination before becoming a firefighter, fire fighting instructor, rescue squad member, or advanced life support unit member.
(d)    (1)    A forest ranger, park ranger, wildlife ranger, paid law enforcement employee of the Department of Natural Resources who is a covered employee under § 9–207 of this title, and a park police officer of the Maryland–National Capital Park and Planning Commission is presumed to have an occupational disease that was suffered in the line of duty and is compensable under this title if the individual:
(i)    is suffering from Lyme disease; and
(ii)    was not suffering from Lyme disease before assignment to a position that regularly places the employee in an outdoor wooded environment.
(2)    The presumption under this subsection for a park police officer of the Maryland–National Capital Park and Planning Commission shall only apply:
(i)    during the time that the park police officer is assigned to a position that regularly places the park police officer in an outdoor wooded environment; and
(ii)    for 3 years after the last date that the park police officer was assigned by the Maryland–National Capital Park and Planning Commission to a position that regularly placed the officer in an outdoor wooded environment.
(e)    (1)    Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, any paid firefighter, paid fire fighting instructor, sworn member of the Office of the State Fire Marshal, paid police officer, forest ranger, park ranger, wildlife ranger, paid law enforcement employee of the Department of Natural Resources, deputy sheriff of Anne Arundel County, Anne Arundel County detention officer, park police officer of the Maryland–National Capital Park and Planning Commission, deputy sheriff of Montgomery County, deputy sheriff of Baltimore City, Montgomery County correctional officer, deputy sheriff of Prince George’s County, or Prince George’s County correctional officer who is eligible for benefits under subsection (a), (b), (c), or (d) of this section or the dependents of those individuals shall receive the benefits in addition to any benefits that the individual or the dependents of the individual are entitled to receive under the retirement system in which the individual was a participant at the time of the claim.
(2)    The benefits received under this title shall be adjusted so that the weekly total of those benefits and retirement benefits does not exceed the weekly salary that was paid to an individual specified under paragraph (1) of this subsection.