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Is firefighter bladder cancer covered in your state?

26 states name bladder cancer in their firefighter cancer law, and 14 more presume it came from the job when it is linked to what you were exposed to.

Check bladder cancer in your state

Named in state law
26 states
the law lists it by name
If linked to the job
14 more states
a presumption for cancers tied to an exposure
Federal firefighters
Named
after 5 years of service
Research (IARC, 2022)
Caused by firefighting
one of the two cancers it found firefighting causes

Sources: each state's law, linked on its page; 5 U.S.C. § 8143b for federal firefighters; IARC Monographs volume 132.

Which states presume bladder cancer for firefighters?

States that name bladder cancer (26)

Presumed when linked to your work (14)

The law covers any cancer tied to a job exposure, so your claim has to show the link.

A cancer benefit instead of a presumption (4)

Your department carries insurance that pays a set benefit for bladder cancer. A workers' comp claim is separate.

Another rule or not covered (6)

Bladder cancer is not presumed here; the state page says what the law does cover.

Call about bladder cancer

Questions about your diagnosis, your service or your deadline go to the claims line: +1 833 853 0496

Bladder cancer and firefighting: what the research says

In June 2022 the World Health Organization's cancer agency rated firefighting itself as a cause of cancer in people, its top rating (IARC Monographs volume 132). Bladder cancer is one of only two cancers it found firefighting causes, on its strongest level of evidence.

A study of nearly 30,000 career firefighters by NIOSH, the federal job-safety institute, found more bladder cancer than expected in firefighters under 65 (NIOSH, 2014).

How do you file a firefighter bladder cancer claim?

  1. Get the diagnosis in writing: the type of bladder cancer and the date it was found.
  2. Open your state's page above for the claims board, the claim form and the time limits for telling your department and for filing.
  3. If your state names bladder cancer, say so on the claim and name the law. If it does not, ask your doctor for a signed note saying your work caused it.

Bladder cancer is not one of the six illnesses in the firefighting foam lawsuit (MDL 2873), so the AFFF cases do not cover it. Federal firefighters and 9/11 responders have their own programs: the federal presumption and the 9/11 health and compensation programs.