The following definitions apply in this Article:

(1) Covered person. – This term shall apply to all of the following individuals:

a. Firefighters.

b. Law enforcement officers.

c. Noncustodial employees of the Department of Adult Correction or the Division of Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety.

d. Rescue squad workers.

e. Senior Civil Air Patrol members.

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(2) Custodial employee. – An employee of the Department of Adult Correction or the Division of Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety and who is a detention officer or a correctional officer or who otherwise has direct care and control over individuals in the custody of the Department of Adult Correction or the Division of Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety.

(3) Dependent child. – Any unmarried child of the deceased covered person, whether natural, adopted, posthumously born or whether a child born out of wedlock as entitled to inherit under the Intestate Succession Act, who is under 18 years of age and dependent upon and receiving his or her chief support from the covered person at the time of the covered person’s death; provided, however, that if a dependent child is entitled to receive benefits at the time of the covered person’s death as hereinafter provided, the child shall continue to be eligible to receive such benefits regardless of his or her age thereafter. This term also includes any child over 18 years of age who is physically or mentally incapable of earning a living. Any child over 18 years of age who was enrolled as a full-time student at the time of the covered person’s death shall, so long as the child remains a full-time student as defined in the Social Security Act, be regarded as a dependent child and eligible to receive benefits under the provisions of this Article.

(4) Dependent parent. – The parent of the deceased covered person, whether natural or adoptive, who was dependent upon and receiving his or her total and entire support from the covered person at the time of the injury that resulted in that covered person’s death.

(5) Firefighter. – This term shall apply to all of the following individuals:

a. Firefighters as defined in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 58-84-5.

b. Eligible firefighters as defined in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 58-86-2, notwithstanding any age requirements set out in Article 86 of Chapter 58 of the N.C. Gen. Stat..

c. Full-time, permanent part-time, and temporary employees of the North Carolina Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services during the time they are actively engaged in firefighting activities or emergency response activities pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 166A-19.77

d. Full-time employees of the North Carolina Department of Insurance during the time they are actively engaged in firefighting activities and during the time they are training firefighters.

e. County fire marshals when engaged in the performance of their county duties.

f. All otherwise eligible individuals who, while actively engaged as firefighters, are acting in the capacity of a fire instructor outside their own department or squad.

(6) Killed in the line of duty. – This term shall apply to all of the following deaths:

a. The death of any law-enforcement officer, firefighter, or rescue squad worker who is killed or dies as a result of bodily injuries sustained or extreme exercise or extreme activity experienced in the course and scope of his or her official duties while in the discharge of his or her official duty or duties.

b. The death of a senior Civil Air Patrol member who is killed or dies as a result of bodily injuries sustained or extreme exercise or extreme activity experienced in the course and scope of his or her official duties while engaged in a State requested and approved mission pursuant to Article 13 of Chapter 143B of the N.C. Gen. Stat..

c. The death of a noncustodial employee who, while performing his or her official duties, is killed in a manner reasonably determined by the Industrial Commission to be directly caused by an individual or individuals in the custody of the Department of Adult Correction or the Division of Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety.

d. When the death of a law enforcement officer, firefighter, rescue squad worker, or senior Civil Air Patrol member occurs as the direct and proximate result of a myocardial infarction suffered while on duty or within 24 hours after participating in a training exercise or responding to an emergency situation, the law enforcement officer, firefighter, rescue squad worker, or senior Civil Air Patrol member is presumed to have been killed in the line of duty.

e. When the death of a firefighter occurs as a direct and proximate result of any of the following cancers that are occupationally related to firefighting, that firefighter is presumed to have been killed in the line of duty:

1. Mesothelioma.

2. Testicular cancer.

3. Cancer of the small intestine.

4. Esophageal cancer.

5. Oral cavity cancer.

6. Pharynx cancer.

(7) Law enforcement officer or officer. – This term shall apply to all of the following individuals:

a. Sheriffs and all law-enforcement officers employed full-time, permanent part-time, or temporarily by a sheriff, the State of North Carolina, or any county or municipality thereof, whether paid or unpaid.

b. Full-time custodial employees and probation and parole officers of the Department of Adult Correction.

c. Full-time institutional and full-time, permanent part-time, and temporary detention employees of the Division of Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety.

d. Full-time, permanent part-time, and temporary detention officers employed by any sheriff, county or municipality, whether paid or unpaid.

(7a) (For effective date and applicability, see editor’s note) Murdered in the line of duty. – The death of a covered person who was killed in the line of duty in a manner reasonably determined by the Industrial Commission to be directly caused by the intentional harmful act of another person.

(8) Noncustodial employee. – An employee of the Department of Adult Correction who is not a custodial employee or the Division of Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety who is not a custodial employee.

(9) Official duties. – All duties to which an individual is assigned as part of the individual’s job function. This term shall also include those duties performed by an individual while (i) en route to, engaged in, or returning from training; (ii) in the course of responding to, engaged in, or returning from a call by the department of which the individual is a member; or (iii) in the course of responding to, engaged in, or returning from a call for assistance from any department or organization within the State of North Carolina or within a service area contiguous to the borders of the State of North Carolina when served or aided by a department from within the State of North Carolina. While within the State of North Carolina, any covered person who renders service or assistance, of his or her own volition, at the scene of an emergency, is performing his or her official duties when both of the following apply:

a. Reasonably apparent circumstances require prompt decisions and actions to protect persons and property.

b. The necessity of immediate action is so reasonably apparent that any delay in acting would seriously worsen the property damage or endanger any individual’s life.

(10) Rescue squad worker. – This term shall apply to all of the following individuals:

a. Individuals who are dedicated to the purpose of alleviating human suffering and assisting anyone who is in difficulty or who is injured or becomes suddenly ill by providing the proper and efficient care or emergency medical services. In addition, these individuals must belong to an organized rescue squad that is eligible for membership in the North Carolina Association of Rescue and Emergency Medical Services, Inc., and must have attended a minimum of 36 hours of training in the last calendar year. Each rescue squad belonging to the North Carolina Association of Rescue and Emergency Medical Services, Inc., must file a roster of those members meeting the above requirements with the State Treasurer on or about January 31 of each year, and this roster must be certified to by the secretary of said association.

b. Members of an ambulance service certified by the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to Article 7 of Chapter 131E of the N.C. Gen. Stat.. The Department of Health and Human Services shall furnish a list of ambulance service members to the State Treasurer on or about January 31 of each year.

c. County emergency services coordinators when engaged in the performance of their county duties.

d. Full-time employees of the North Carolina Department of Insurance during the time they are training rescue squad workers and during the time they are engaged in activities as members of the State Emergency Response Team when the State Emergency Response Team has been activated.

e. All otherwise eligible individuals who, while actively engaged as rescue squad workers, are acting in the capacity of a rescue instructor outside their own department or squad.

(11) Senior Civil Air Patrol members. – Senior members of the North Carolina Wing-Civil Air Patrol who are 18 years of age or older and currently certified pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143B-1031

(12) Spouse. – The wife or husband of the deceased covered person who survives him or her and who was residing with the covered person at the time of and during the six months next preceding the date of injury to the covered person that resulted in his or her death and who also resided with the covered person from that date of injury up to and at the time of his or her death and provided, however, the six-month residency requirement shall not apply where the marriage occurred during this six-month period or where the covered person was absent during this six-month period due to service in the Armed Forces of the United States. (1959, c. 1323, s. 1; 1965, c. 937; 1969, c. 1025; 1973, c. 634, s. 2; c. 955, ss. 1, 2; 1975, c. 19, s. 49; c. 284, s. 7; 1977, c. 1048; 1979, c. 516, ss. 2, 3; c. 869; 1981, c. 944, s. 1; 1983, c. 761, s. 237; 1987, c. 812; 1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1050, s. 1; 1989, c. 727, s. 218(97); 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 1024, s. 32; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 833, s. 5; 1997-443, ss. 11A.118(a), 11A.119(a); 2000-137, s. 4(y); 2003-284, s. 30.18A(b); 2004-124, s. 31.18C(a); 2005-276, s. 29.30C; 2005-376, s. 1; 2008-163, s. 1; 2011-145, ss. 13.25(ss), 19.1(h), (l); 2011-183, s. 104; 2012-83, s. 46; 2013-155, s. 20; 2013-198, s. 27; 2013-288, s. 10; 2015-88, s. 8; 2016-94, s. 22.1(a); 2017-57, s. 21.1; 2017-186, s. 2(bbbbbb); 2018-5, s. 35.29(a); 2019-228, s. 2(a); 2021-180, ss. 19C.9(vvv), 36.2(a); 2021-189, s. 5.1(e)-(g).)