By Jenna Gaillard
Westport News Posted: 12/19/2008 10:55:36 AM EST
After a long process, the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) on Tuesday, Dec. 2, approved an appropriation of $54,673 from the Heart and Hypertension Reserve Fund to cover the cost of an award for the heart and hypertension claim of firefighter Robert E. Yost.
The Heart and Hypertension Reserve Fund was established around 20 years ago and is used for payment of claims associated to the Heart and Hypertension Act for fire and police personnel who were hired prior to 1996.
According to Robert Sheldon, an attorney at Tremont & Sheldon, and Yost's attorney, under the Heart and Hypertension Act, if a police officer or firefighter passed an employment physical and it didn't show hypertension or heart disease at that time, they are eligible to file a claim because it's assumed the condition came about as a result of their employment.
Sheldon said the reason why Yost decided to file a claim was because "he was diagnosed with hypertension under the law at that time."
According to Eugene Cederbaum, an attorney at Berchem, Moses & Devlin and a member of the town attorney staff, under the Heart and Hypertension Act, if a policeman or firefighter "knows or should know they have hypertension, they have a year to file a claim with the Workers Compensation Committee."
Yost has been a firefighter for 20 years. According to Sheldon, he was diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure) in October 2004 and filed his claim shortly after.
According to Cederbaum, Yost's cardiologist determined that he had a 20 percent disability rating of the heart. However, the town cardiologist said he only had 8 percent disability rating of the heart. Cederbaum said they negotiated to a disability rating of 14 percent, which came out to the asking price of $54,673.
According to Cederbaum, the disability rating that's determined by the cardiologist "judges how serious the impairment of the heart is caused by the hypertension."
Yost is still a firefighter and, according to Cederbaum, there is a possibility that if his disability worsens he could file a future claim.
John Kondub, the town finance director, said there are currently about 70 fire and police personnel eligible for appropriation of money under the Heart and Hypertension Reserve Fund. Kondub said as of Dec. 1, 2008, the fund had around $719,000. However, with a new claim that was filed by another individual which asked for an appropriation of $125,000 and was approved by the Board of Finance, plus the money Yost received, the amount of money in the fund will be reduced to about $539,000.