Presumption of compensability for cardiac events of full-time paid firefighters and law enforcement officers
N.D. Cent. Code § 65-01-15.2
in effect65-01-15.2. Presumption of compensability for cardiac events of full-time paid
firefighters and law enforcement officers.
1. A heart attack, stroke, vascular rupture, or other similar cardiac event, is presumed to
be a compensable injury when a full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer:
a. Engages in a situation involving strenuous physical law enforcement activity, fire
suppression activity, or emergency response activity, or participates in a training
exercise involving strenuous physical activity; and
b. The heart attack, stroke, vascular rupture, or other similar cardiac event occurs
no later than forty-eight hours after the full-time paid firefighter or law
enforcement officer engaged or participated in the activity listed under
subdivision a.
2. The presumption under subsection 1 may be rebutted by clear and convincing
evidence the condition or impairment was not work related.
3. This section applies to any full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer who has
less than five years of continuous service.
4. A full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer is not eligible for the benefit
provided under this section unless the full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement
officer has successfully passed a medical examination that failed to reveal any
evidence of a cardiovascular condition.
5. For purposes of this section, "law enforcement officer" means an individual who is
licensed to perform peace officer law enforcement duties under chapter 12-63 and is
employed full time by the bureau of criminal investigation, the game and fish
department, the state highway patrol, the parole and probation division, the North
Dakota state university police department, the North Dakota state college of science
police department, the university of North Dakota police department, the Bismarck
state college police department, a county sheriff's department, a city police
department, or the parks and recreation department pursuant to section 55-08-04.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t65c01.pdf#nameddest=65-01-15p2Fetched: 10/16/2026