(a) Any member with ten or more years of contributing service and who during covered employment: (1) Has been or becomes totally disabled from any cause other than those set forth in section nineteen of this article and not due to vicious habits, intemperance or willful misconduct on his or her part; and (2) in the opinion of two physicians after medical examination, one of whom shall be named by the board, he or she is by reason of the disability unable to perform adequately the duties required of an emergency medical services officer, is entitled to receive and shall be paid from the fund in monthly installments, the compensation set forth in, either subsection (b) or (c) of this section.

Terms Used In West Virginia Code 16-5V-20

  • Board: means the Consolidated Public Retirement Board. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
  • Covered employment: means either: (1) Employment as a full-time emergency medical technician, emergency medical technician/paramedic or emergency medical services/registered nurse and the active performance of the duties required of emergency medical services officers. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
  • Emergency medical services officer: means an individual employed by the state, county or other political subdivision as a medical professional who is qualified to respond to medical emergencies, aids the sick and injured and arranges or transports to medical facilities, as defined by the West Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
  • Fund: means the West Virginia Emergency Medical Services Retirement Fund created by this article. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
  • Medical examination: means an in-person or virtual examination of a member's physical or mental health, or both, by a physician or physicians selected or approved by the board. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
  • Member: means either: (1) A person first hired as an emergency medical services officer by an employer which is a participating public employer of the Emergency Medical Services Retirement System after the effective date of this article, as defined in subsection (r) of this section. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
  • retirement: means the first day of the month following or coincident with the latter of the last day the member worked in covered employment or the member's normal retirement age and after completing proper written application for retirement on an application supplied by the board. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2
  • Totally disabled: means a member's inability to engage in substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determined physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or that has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months. See West Virginia Code 16-5V-2

(b) If the member is totally disabled, he or she shall receive sixty-six and two-thirds percent of his or her average monthly compensation for the twelve-month period immediately preceding the disability award, or if the member has not worked all twelve months during the twelve month period immediately preceding the disability award, the average of the months in which compensation was received for the twelve month period shall be used.

(c) If the member remains totally disabled until attaining sixty years of age, then the member shall receive the retirement benefit provided in sections sixteen and seventeen of this article.

(d) The board shall propose legislative rules for promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code concerning member disability payments so as to ensure that the payments do not exceed one hundred percent of the average current salary for the position last held by the member.

(e) The disability benefit payments will begin the first day of the month following termination of employment and receipt of the disability retirement application by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board.

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