A member who becomes physically or mentally totally incapacitated for duty as a police officer or firefighter in the employ of the city by reason of a personal injury or disease which the Board of Trustees finds to have occurred as the natural and proximate result of causes arising out of and in the course of the member’s employment with the city, and the Medical Director, after a physical examination of such member, certifies to the Board that such member is physically or mentally totally incapacitated to perform the duties of a police officer or firefighter in the employ of the city, shall be retired by the Board upon written application filed with the Board by the said member or the member’s department head. If said member does not concur in the report of the Medical Director, he or she shall be entitled to be examined by a medical committee consisting of three physicians, one of whom shall be the Medical Director, one a physician selected by the member, and the third a physician selected by the other two physicians named to the medical committee; however, effective January 1, 1990, a member who is a police sergeant or lieutenant will require that all examining physicians on the medical committee be specialized in the nature of the injury being examined and be board certified, and one of whom shall be the Medical Director or his or her designee. Effective January 15, 1992, a member who is a police patrol officer, “the medical committee will consist of three physicians, one of whom shall be the Medical Director, one a physician selected by the member, and the third a physician selected by the other two physicians of the medical committee. The third physician must be specialized in the nature of the injury and be Board certified.” If the medical committee certifies to the Board, by majority opinion, that such member is physically or mentally totally incapacitated for duty (effective January 1, 1990, in the case of a member who is a police sergeant or lieutenant; such member’s award of a duty disability retirement pension will be under the standards of the Worker’s Disability Compensation Act, Public Act 317 of 1969, M.C.L. §§ 418.101 et seq.) as a police officer or firefighter in the employ of the city, and the Board finds the disability to have occurred as the natural and proximate result of causes arising out of and in the course of employment with the city, such member shall be retired by the Board upon written application filed with the Board by said member or his or her department head. Upon the member’s retirement, he or she shall be entitled to a pension provided in § 16.18.
(Prior Code, § 16.17) (Ord. D-678, passed 1-18-1965, effective 2-1-1965; Ord. D-1592, passed 6-19-1989, effective 6-29-1989; Ord. D-1737, passed 3-20-1995, effective 3-30-1995)