By: Blessing Woksman
KAMR
AMARILLO – It’s another step to directly help Law Enforcement in Texas.
This next step comes in the form of two house bills.
If House Bill 1688 and 1689 pass, it could help bring some relief for officers injured in the line of duty.
Especially when it comes to their Workers’ Compensation.
And the widow of a fallen Amarillo Police Officer is in strong support of the bill.
On September 2015, officer Justin Scherlen was severely injured from a car crash.
Last August, he passed away.
But during the last year of his life, the road to recovery wasn’t easy.
“Justin actually had a caseworker that was assigned to him through the police department. She did not work for Amarillo Police Department, she actually works for a different company and she would go with us to these doctor’s appointments and say, ‘okay, well this is my medical opinion — she was a registered nurse — this is my medical opinion. This is what I think needs to happen.’ And even Workers’ Comp wouldn’t listen to her. They would still deny it,” said Jessica Scherlen, Ofc. Justin Scherlen’s Widow.
And if passed, this is where House Bills 1688 and 1689 come into play.
State Representative Dustin Burrows authored both bills.
He says he created them because of complaints from injured officers.
According to him, the officers couldn’t get in to see the specialists they needed to get better after being injured in any way in the line of duty.
“So I filed two bills, one of whom appoints a liaison to help them work through the complicated Workers’ Comp process, and the other working with the Texas Department of Insurance gives them the tools they need to make sure that Workers’ Comp insurance is going to help get them better,” said Rep. Dustin Burrows, (R) Lubbock.
The goal — if passed — is for the two bills to help make the transition from injured officer to working officer: a smooth one.
“And I know several other officers that have been hurt, that have been injured in the line of duty. And them trying to deal with Workers’ Comp is ridiculous in the aspect of they’re still having to fight for the same thing Justin and I had to fight for — for medications, for surgeries,” said Scherlen.
Both House Bills now have to advance out of committee before reaching the house floor for a vote.
Another legislation filed this week in favor of officers, is Senate Bill 798.
If passed, July 7th could legally be known as “Fallen Law Enforcement Officer Day.”
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick issued this statement today following the filing of Senate bill 798.
It says in part…
“July 7, 2016, was a dark day in Texas history when five brave police officers were shot in Dallas. It was a great blow to our state and it is fitting that we set aside a day to honor their loss and the loss of other officers and first responders who have fallen in the line of duty.”