Dallas Attack Deemed ‘Accidental Discharge Of A Firearm’ By Officer’s Worker’s Comp Doctor.
One of the heroes who was shot in the shoulder during the Dallas Black Lives Matter terrorist attack has been recovering from his injury. The unidentified police officer was shot by the terrorist during the attack which killed five officers and wounded eight others.
Due to the police officer’s injury being work-related, he is going through the workers-compensation process. This officer’s workers-compensation doctor apparently doesn’t think too much of police officers getting shot in a terrorist attack, as he has labeled the shooting an “accidental discharge of a firearm.”
Make no mistake, this officer wasn’t shot in an accidental shooting; he was shot by a terrorist intent on murdering him.
That’s not all. Even though the officer had been dealing with the consequences of the injury, and the psychological trauma from having somebody attempt to murder him, and watching his comrades get assassinated, the doctor set his return to work date as July 15, just one week after the attack. The officer’s wound wasn’t a grazing wound either; he still has the bullet in his shoulder.
The officer hired an attorney, Pete Schulte, who told CBS DFW, “The doctor was very dismissive, didn’t want to take the fact that the officer that was shot very seriously. It’s quite a concern because this was just days after the ambush and he was trying to get treated he still has a bullet in his shoulder.” Schulte was able to get the officer’s return to work date pushed back.
The officer and his attorney are concerned that by classifying the injury improperly, it may affect the officer’s ongoing care.
The doctor’s office has declined to comment on the matter, citing patient privacy laws.
Police officer line-of-duty injuries are different than most other professions. When people in other professions get injured, it’s usually accidental. However, our heroes are expected to run into danger, knowing that they will probably get hurt. They know that every time they go to detain a combative suspect, there is a good chance that they can get injured. They know that when they run towards gunshots, they are likely to be severely injured or killed. These heroes at least deserve to have their injuries properly treated afterwards.
This is one of the most messed-up situations that we have seen. Please share this story to show how police officers are being disrespected even when they are outside of uniform, and share your support for our heroes in blue.
This makes me so angry ! I was in law enforcement for 16 years and have a son and a brother in law enforcement. I have seen the on the job struggles as well as the off the job struggles . In January my son flipped his car trying to avoid a deer in the road while responding to a call . He’s still has not received a dime from workers comp. Taking care of our officers should be a priority ! I pray this officer will have a speedy recovery both mentally and physically and that the doctor who made the situation worse gets slammed in civil court and by the media !