Two Tucson firefighters will have their cancer treatment covered after the city council on Tuesday approved their workers compensation claims.
Almost thirty firefighters attended the council study session in an act of solidarity for two unidentified firefighters who recently were diagnosed with cancer, said Tucson Fire Fighters Association president Clayton Black. They gave a standing ovation immediately after the council approved the coverage.
“We finally got (them) what they deserved. We knew that’s the way it should be,†Black said shortly after the council’s action. “They recognized the problem, and they fixed it for us.â€
About 30 firefighters clap as the Tucson City Council on Tuesday votes to cover treatment for two unidentified Tucson firefighters who recently were diagnosed with thyroid cancer who had their their original workers’ compensation claims denied.
The two firefighters, both in their 30’s, were diagnosed with last year and early this year. They were each diagnosed with thyroid cancer, but had their original workers’ compensation claims denied, Black said.
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The City Council approved authorizing the city manager and city attorney to treat all adenocarcinomas as presumptive cancers, for peace officers, firefighters and fire investigators. Additionally, the council authorized the city attorney to proceed with the two pending adenocarcinoma claims as presumptive cancers under state law.
Councilwoman Nikki Lee thanked Mayor Regina Romero for putting the issue on the council’s agenda.
“Cancer is the number one reason that we lose firefighters across this country, so I think the more that we can do to take care of all (them) who are taking care of our community, it’s truly the least we can do,†she said.
Dan Freiberg, far right, president of the professional fire fighter’s association, talks to about 30 firefighters who gathered at the Tucson City Council study session to support two colleagues who had their original worker compensation claims for thyroid cancer rejected.
Orion Godfrey, the cancer coordinator for the Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona and a commissioner on the Industrial Commission of Arizona, referenced a policy the commission put out in January. It says any “disease, infirmity or impairment†of a firefighter’s health caused by, among other ailments, “leukemia or adenocarcinoma or mesothelioma of the respiratory tract and that results in disability or death is presumed to be an occupational disease†and is deemed to arise out of employment.
Godfrey said the firefighters’ original claims were denied, in-part because the policy lacked “an oxford comma,†referring to the “leukemia or adenocarcinoma or mesothelioma of the respiratory tract†line of the policy.
“This is literally, for those English majors out there, (because of) a missing Oxford comma . . . (The insurance provider) stands on, because that comma is not (after adenocarcinoma), that adenocarcinoma has to be of the respiratory tract,†he said. “You’re going to have leukemia of the respiratory tract? That’s preposterous.â€
Black said ahead of the vote that cancer diagnoses are starting to happen earlier in firefighters’ careers, partially because they’re getting better medical help sooner. Finding these cancers in the early stages obviously helps in the long run, but getting them covered under workers’ compensation can be a big challenge, he said.
“The problem with these presumptive cancers, when they’re not covered and once they’re denied, (if the claim) goes through the appeal process and they get denied a third time, we can’t reopen the plan,†Black said. “Say they get denied on this presumptive cancer but later on they get a lung cancer or something that would have been for sure presumptive, they’re denied because they have a history of cancer. So that’s why it’s important to get these presumptive cancers covered, because it can affect their whole lives.â€
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