By Taylor Stuck, The Herald-Dispatch of Huntington
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Following testimony from a retired firefighter about his son, a Huntington firefighter who died by suicide, the House Judiciary Committee passed a bill Monday that would allow first responders to take workers’ compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
House Bill 2321 would provide workers’ compensation benefits to firefighters, law enforcement officers, EMTs and paramedics diagnosed with PTSD. It is the third year Del. Chad Lovejoy, D-Cabell, lead sponsor of the bill, has introduced the legislation.
“I wanted to make it real,” Lovejoy said. “That’s why I asked Bob Coleman to share … It’s heroic what he did today.”
Bob Coleman said his son Chris Coleman’s issues began when the opioid epidemic took hold of Huntington. Chris Coleman and his colleagues, mostly young adults in their 20s and 30s, were seeing death daily. And those dying were their peers. Then Bob Coleman’s other son died in a drug-fueled suicide. Bob and Chris found him.
Not long after that, two young children — ages 4 and 7 — died in a house fire. Chris Coleman found the 4-year-old girl in the house.
Eventually, Chris Coleman was diagnosed with PTSD and told to take time off work to get treatment. He used all of his sick and vacation time before he had to go back to work because he couldn’t be without a paycheck. …
