Firefighter cancer presumption in Hawaii
Firefighters in Hawaii don't get any cancer presumption. Its heart and lung rule may cover lung cancer.
Law in question: Haw. Rev. Stat. § 88-79. Disability retirement is what the law covers.
Workers' comp (workers' compensation) is the insurance that pays medical bills and part of your lost pay when work makes you sick. Line-of-duty benefits are paid when an illness or injury comes from your work as a firefighter.
Conditions under Hawaii's law
- Lung cancer is the only kind that counts. Hawaii covers it under a heart and lung rule rather than a cancer rule.
- You must be permanently disabled by the cancer.
- Your application has to be for job-related disability retirement.
Call about your Hawaii claim
Questions about your diagnosis, your service record or your deadline go to the claims line: +1 833 853 0496
Cancers Hawaii covers
| Cancer | Covered in Hawaii? |
|---|---|
| Lung cancerThrough the heart and lung presumption, if it leaves you permanently unable to work | Yes |
| Bladder cancer | Not named |
| Brain cancer | Not named |
| Breast cancer | Not named |
| Colon or rectal cancer | Not named |
| Esophagus cancer | Not named |
| Kidney cancer | Not named |
| Leukemia | Not named |
| Liver cancer | Not named |
| Mesothelioma | Not named |
| Multiple myeloma | Not named |
| Non-Hodgkin lymphoma | Not named |
| Ovarian, cervical or uterine cancer | Not named |
| Pancreatic cancer | Not named |
| Prostate cancer | Not named |
| Skin cancer, melanoma included | Not named |
| Stomach cancer | Not named |
| Testicular cancer | Not named |
| Throat or mouth cancer | Not named |
| Thyroid cancer | Not named |
A cancer shown as "Not named" can still be part of a workers' comp claim. A doctor must connect it to your work.
What steps do you take to file a cancer claim as a firefighter in Hawaii?
- Get the application steps for disability retirement from your department or its pension or benefit board, and state the law (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 88-79). 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 Disability Compensation Division, Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Hawaii's cancer law does not help with that one, so your doctor has to say in writing that your work caused the cancer.
- Get together your diagnosis, the dates you were hired and served, results from any physical exam, plus your fire and exposure records.
- 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.