Firefighter cancer presumption in Colorado
After 5 years of service, Colorado presumes 16 cancers are job-related.
The law is Colo. Rev. Stat. § 8-41-209. It applies to 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 Colorado's law
- Your service lasted at least 5 years.
- Your cancer is a type that Colorado's law names.
- A local government employs you as a firefighter.
- You got a physical exam when you joined as a firefighter or at some later date.
- That exam must not have shown signs of the cancer, or that it began before your hire date.
Medical evidence lets your employer argue the cancer didn't come from your firefighting job.
Call about your Colorado claim
Questions about your diagnosis, your service record or your deadline go to the claims line: +1 833 853 0496
Cancers Colorado's law covers
| Cancer | Covered in Colorado? |
|---|---|
| Bladder cancer | Yes |
| Brain cancer | Yes |
| Colon or rectal cancer | Yes |
| Esophagus cancer | Yes |
| Kidney cancer | Yes |
| Leukemia | Yes |
| Liver cancer | Yes |
| Multiple myeloma | Yes |
| Non-Hodgkin lymphoma | Yes |
| Ovarian, cervical or uterine cancer | Yes |
| Pancreatic cancer | Yes |
| Prostate cancer | Yes |
| Skin cancer, melanoma included | Yes |
| Stomach cancer | Yes |
| Testicular cancer | Yes |
| Cancer of the throat or mouthThe law treats mouth and throat (pharynx) cancers as part of the digestive system; it's unclear about the voice box | Partly |
| Breast cancer | Not named |
| Lung cancer | Not named |
| Mesothelioma | Not named |
| Thyroid cancer | Not named |
If a cancer shows as "Not named," it can still appear in a workers' comp claim, but a doctor must connect it to your work.
As a Colorado firefighter, how do you file a workers' comp cancer claim?
- Put it in writing to your department: you have cancer and you believe the job caused it. Save a copy for yourself.
- Send your claim to the Colorado Division of Workers' Compensation or go through the insurer your employer uses, and name the law that applies (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 8-41-209) on your form.
- Put together your diagnosis, the dates you were hired and served, any physical exam results, plus your fire and exposure records.
- Start soon. Workers' comp claims have time limits for telling your employer and for filing, and some are short.