Firefighter cancer presumption in Alaska
After 6 years of service, Alaska presumes 8 cancers are job related.
The law here is Alaska Stat. § 23.30.121. This law covers workers' comp.
Presumed means the law assumes your job caused the cancer, so your employer has to show it came from something else. Workers' comp (workers' compensation) is the insurance that pays medical bills and part of your lost pay when work makes you sick.
Conditions under Alaska's law
- Your service lasted at least 6 years.
- Volunteers are covered too, if their fire department is registered with the state fire marshal.
- On the job, you came into contact with a known cancer-causing substance, and that substance is linked to your cancer.
- A physical exam at hiring, then at least one every two years during your first six years, showed no cancer.
- You carry a state Department of Public Safety certificate of Firefighter I or higher.
- Your deadline: 6 months after leaving for each year served, never later than 10 years from your final day.
Your employer is allowed to claim the cancer came from something else, for example tobacco use, your weight, your lifestyle, family history, or other jobs.
Questions about your diagnosis, your service record or your deadline go to the claims line: +1 833 853 0496
Cancers Alaska covers
| Cancer | Covered in Alaska? |
|---|---|
| Bladder cancer | Yes |
| Brain cancerPrimary brain cancer only | Yes |
| Breast cancer | Yes |
| Kidney cancer | Yes |
| Leukemia | Yes |
| Non-Hodgkin lymphoma | Yes |
| Prostate cancer | Yes |
| Skin cancer, including melanomaThe list names melanoma alone; other skin cancers aren't included | Partly |
| Colon or rectal cancer | Not named |
| Esophagus cancer | Not named |
| Liver cancer | Not named |
| Lung cancer | Not named |
| Mesothelioma | Not named |
| Multiple myeloma | Not named |
| Ovarian, cervical or uterine cancer | Not named |
| Pancreatic cancer | Not named |
| Stomach cancer | Not named |
| Testicular cancer | Not named |
| Throat or mouth cancer | Not named |
| Thyroid cancer | Not named |
You can still put a cancer labeled "Not named" in a workers' comp claim. To do that, a doctor must tie the cancer to your job.
In Alaska, how do you file a workers' comp claim for firefighter cancer?
- Put it in writing to your department: you have cancer and you believe the job caused it. Keep your own copy.
- On the form, write the law (Alaska Stat. § 23.30.121). File with the Alaska's Division of Workers' Compensation (Department of Labor and Workforce Development) or use your employer's insurer.
- Get these together: your diagnosis, your hire and service dates, and your fire and exposure records. Include any results from physical exams too.
- Start soon. Workers' comp claims have time limits for telling your employer and for filing, and some are short.
Check a different cancer · See the states that name each cancer