Media Release

The Board of Trustees of the Chattanooga Fire and Police Pension Fund would like to address member concerns surrounding post-traumatic stress (PTS) disability benefit claims and pending disability lawsuits.

The Trustees recognize that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition.  However, a PTSD diagnosis does not automatically qualify a firefighter or police officer for a disability pension from the Fund. In determining the outcome of disability applications, the Trustees of the Fund are obligated to follow the Fund’s policies and the terms of the legislation that governs the Fund. To date, the Trustees have reached a determination on seven PTSD applications and granted three of them.  

It is important to understand that the Trustees have a fiduciary duty to administer the Fund for the benefit of ALL participants as a whole and must consider that duty in rendering disability determinations.  Therefore, the Trustees cannot grant disability benefits for members who do not qualify for those benefits.  This is why the Trustees have denied four of the applications for PTSD disability benefits.  Although each of these four applicants still has a vested service retirement pension, each of the four applicants nevertheless filed lawsuits against the Fund challenging the Trustees’ denial of their PTSD disability pension applications.  The Fund has prevailed in one suit and continues to navigate the remaining lawsuits. In the course of these lawsuits, however, the Fund has received conflicting legal opinions from appellate courts regarding applicable law.  Therefore, it became necessary to seek clarification from the Supreme Court of the State of Tennessee.  Accordingly, the Fund filed an Application for Permission to Appeal with the Tennessee Supreme Court requesting clarification of the law and statutes governing the Fund’s administrative hearings and decisions.  Recognizing the significance of the issues raised by the Fund, the Tennessee Supreme Court accepted this application, and oral arguments were held before the Tennessee Supreme Court today.  The Trustees anticipate receiving a decision from the Tennessee Supreme Court within a few months. The Court’s opinion is expected to address processes and procedures that will affect how existing and future pension benefit applications and lawsuits, including those involving PTSD disability claims, move forward.