Firefighter cancer presumption in Idaho
After 5 years on the job, Idaho presumes 11 cancers are work-related.
The law is Idaho Code § 72-438(14). Workers' comp uses this law.
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 Idaho's law
- You put in at least 5 years.
- For 10 or more years, tobacco products must not have been regularly used by you or by anyone in your home.
- Your diagnosis must come within 10 years of your last day actually working as a firefighter.
- At hiring, your first medical screening exam must not have found the cancer.
- Fighting or investigating fires must have been your main job duty.
Your employer may claim something else caused your cancer, and then proving the job did it falls on you.
Call about your Idaho claim
Questions about your diagnosis, your service record or your deadline go to the claims line: +1 833 853 0496
Cancers the Idaho law covers
| Cancer | Covered in Idaho? |
|---|---|
| Bladder cancer | Yes |
| Brain cancer | Yes |
| Cancer in the breastYou need 5 years of service, a diagnosis before age 40, and no genetic predisposition | Yes |
| Colon or rectal cancer | Yes |
| Esophagus cancer | Yes |
| Kidney cancer | Yes |
| Leukemia | Yes |
| Mesothelioma | Yes |
| Multiple myeloma | Yes |
| Non-Hodgkin lymphoma | Yes |
| Cancer in the testiclesYou need 5 years of service, a diagnosis before age 40, and no steroid or HGH use | Yes |
| Liver cancer | Not named |
| Lung cancer | 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 |
| Throat or mouth cancer | Not named |
| Thyroid cancer | Not named |
You can still claim a cancer marked "Not named" under workers' comp, but a doctor must tie it to your job.
In Idaho, how does a firefighter file a workers' comp claim for 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, put down the law (Idaho Code § 72-438(14)) and file either through your employer's insurer or with the Idaho Industrial Commission.
- Collect these: fire and exposure records, any physical exam results, your hire and service dates, and your diagnosis.
- Start soon. Workers' comp claims have time limits for telling your employer and for filing, and some are short.