Firefighter cancer presumption in Illinois
In Illinois, cancer tied to what firefighters are exposed to on the job is presumed work-related after 5 years of service.
The statutes are 820 ILCS 310 and 40 ILCS 5/4-110.1. Workers' comp and disability pensions both rely on it.
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 Illinois's law
- Your service lasted at least 5 years.
- It has to disable you, so you can't perform your fire department duties.
- It has to appear or develop during your service with the fire department.
- Pension benefits call for an entry medical exam with no cancer found, or a clear exam later on.
- You don't qualify if you're a private-company EMT or paramedic whose work is mostly medical transfers.
The job is presumed to have caused your cancer, though your employer may point to another cause.
Questions about your diagnosis, your service record or your deadline go to the claims line: +1 833 853 0496
Cancer types Illinois covers
Any cancer that disables you counts under workers' comp. Pensions, though, cover types that heat, radiation, or substances known to cause cancer can bring on.
Among those cancers are:
- Cancer of the bladder
- Cancer of the brain
- Cancer of the breast
- Cancer of the colon or rectum
- Cancer of the esophagus
- Cancer of the kidney
- Leukemia
- Cancer of the liver
- Cancer of the lung
- Mesothelioma
- The cancer called multiple myeloma
- Non-Hodgkin type of lymphoma
- Cancer of the ovary, cervix or uterus
- Cancer of the pancreas
- Cancer of the prostate
- Melanoma and other skin cancer
- Cancer of the stomach
- Cancer of the testicle
- Cancer of the throat or mouth
- Cancer of the thyroid
How do you file a workers' comp cancer claim as an Illinois firefighter?
- Put it in writing to your department that you have cancer and that you believe the job caused it. Make sure you keep a copy.
- Your claim goes to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission or to your employer's insurer. Cite the law on the form: 820 ILCS 310 and 40 ILCS 5/4-110.1.
- Collect your diagnosis, the dates you were hired and served, any physical exam results, and records of fires and exposures.
- Start soon. Workers' comp claims have time limits for telling your employer and for filing, and some are short.