Firefighter cancer presumption in Florida
After 5 years of service, Florida presumes that 17 cancers are job related.
The law here: Fla. Stat. § 112.1816. You can use it for cancer treatment, a cash payment, disability retirement, and death benefits.
Presumed means the law assumes your job caused the cancer, so your employer has to show it came from something else. Florida's cancer law is separate from workers' comp, which is the insurance that pays medical bills and lost pay when work makes you sick.
The conditions under Florida's law
- Your service lasted at least 5 years.
- Only full-time firefighters fall under this law, so volunteers aren't covered.
- Your cancer has to be a type the law names.
- You've gone at least 5 years without using tobacco products.
- Over the past 5 years, you haven't held another job proven to raise cancer risk.
- Disability retirement requires that cancer leave you totally and permanently disabled, as defined by your plan.
Call about your Florida claim
Questions about your diagnosis, your service record or your deadline go to the claims line: +1 833 853 0496
Cancers Florida's law covers
| Cancer | Covered in Florida? |
|---|---|
| Bladder cancer | Yes |
| Brain cancer | Yes |
| Breast cancer | Yes |
| Colon or rectal cancer | Yes |
| Esophagus cancer | Yes |
| Kidney cancer | Yes |
| Lung cancer | Yes |
| Mesothelioma | Yes |
| Multiple myeloma | Yes |
| Non-Hodgkin lymphoma | Yes |
| Ovarian, cervical or uterine cancer | Yes |
| Prostate cancer | Yes |
| Skin cancer, melanoma included | Yes |
| Stomach cancer | Yes |
| Testicular cancer | Yes |
| Throat or mouth cancer | Yes |
| Thyroid cancer | Yes |
| Leukemia | Not named |
| Liver cancer | Not named |
| Pancreatic cancer | Not named |
You can still claim workers' comp for a cancer marked "Not named", as long as a doctor ties it to your job.
In Florida, how do you file a claim for firefighter cancer?
- Speak with your department or its pension or benefit board about how to request cancer treatment, cash payments, disability retirement and death benefits and point to the law (Fla. Stat. § 112.1816). That board is the office that decides retirement and disability pay for your department.
- You can also file a workers' comp claim, which is a second claim with the Florida Division of Workers' Compensation. Florida's cancer law does not help with that one, so your doctor has to say in writing that your work caused the cancer.
- Collect your diagnosis, the dates you were hired and served, any results from physical exams, and records of your fires and exposures.
- Try to start soon, because time limits apply. Ask your department or the board how long you have to apply. A workers' comp claim has its own deadlines.
Look at another cancer · See the states that name each cancer