Firefighter cancer presumption in Kentucky
In Kentucky, no workers' comp presumption for cancer exists. The law pays a line‑of‑duty death benefit after a firefighter's death from a covered cancer.
The rule comes from Ky. Rev. Stat. § 61.315. Line-of-duty death benefits are what it 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 Kentucky's law
- Your service ran 5 years or more.
- A listed cancer type must cause death before age 65 and no later than ten years after you leave firefighting.
- While firefighting, you came into contact with a known cancer-causing substance tied to that cancer type.
- For ten years before the cancer diagnosis, you used no tobacco products.
- No cancer diagnosis came before your first day as a firefighter.
Call about your Kentucky claim
Questions about your diagnosis, your service record or your deadline go to the claims line: +1 833 853 0496
Cancers the Kentucky list includes
| Cancer | Covered in Kentucky? |
|---|---|
| Bladder cancer | Yes |
| Brain cancer | Yes |
| Breast cancer | Yes |
| Kidney cancer | Yes |
| Leukemia | Yes |
| Liver cancer | Yes |
| Multiple myeloma | Yes |
| Non-Hodgkin lymphoma | Yes |
| Prostate cancer | Yes |
| Skin cancer, melanoma included | Yes |
| Testicular cancer | Yes |
| Cancer of the colon or rectumThe list names colon cancer but leaves out rectal cancer | Partly |
| Cancer of the ovary, cervix or uterusCervical cancer alone appears on the list; ovarian and uterine cancer do not | Partly |
| Esophagus cancer | Not named |
| Lung cancer | Not named |
| Mesothelioma | Not named |
| Pancreatic cancer | Not named |
| Stomach cancer | Not named |
| Throat or mouth cancer | Not named |
| Thyroid cancer | Not named |
Even a cancer shown as "Not named" can go into a workers' comp claim, as long as a doctor ties it to your job.
How do you file a claim for firefighter cancer in Kentucky?
- To learn the application process for line-of-duty death benefits, ask your department or the board that handles its pension or benefits. Mention the law (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 61.315). 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 Kentucky Department of Workers' Claims. Kentucky'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 physical exam results, 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.