The link between firefighting and cancer is well known. The U.S. Fire Administration has reported that firefighters have a 9% higher risk of developing cancer and a 14% higher risk of dying from cancer compared to the general public.[1]
Given this reality, there are a variety of benefits available for firefighters who develop work-related cancer including workers’ compensation, Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) disability, Department of Public Safety (DPS), and others benefits.
Proving that your cancer is caused by your firefighting is key to unlocking these benefits. However, proving this causation can be challenging because are many non-work-related risk factors and cancer rarely results from a single carcinogenic exposure.
Given the potential difficulty of proving causation, the Minnesota Legislature enacted a legal presumption that makes it easier for firefighters who develop work-related cancer to access workers’ compensation benefits if certain requirements are met. Significantly, this presumption applies to full-time, part-time, volunteer, and paid-on-call firefighters.
This presumption applies when a firefighter is unable to perform their duties due to a cancer “caused by exposure to heat, radiation, or a known or suspected carcinogen, as defined by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and the carcinogen is reasonably linked to the disabling cancer.”
The research establishing the link between firefighting and cancer is more firmly established for some cancers (like non-Hodgkin lymphoma, prostate cancer, and leukemia) than for others. But research is constantly evolving so it is important to review the most recent guidance from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to determine whether the presumption applies.
Because cancer develops over time, Minnesota allows firefighters to access workers’ compensation benefits for work-related cancer even after they have stopped firefighting. Death and dependency benefits may also be available to the dependents of firefighters who lose their battle with work-related cancer.
To access workers’ compensation and other benefits, however, firefighters must bring their claims within certain time limits and there are many different factors that impact the statute of limitations. Given these strict time limitations, however, it is important to act quickly to preserve the benefits designed to protect you and your family, now and in the future.
[1] https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/summit/2023-factsheets/firefighter-cancer.pdf
