Firefighter cancer presumption in Louisiana
After 10 years of service, Louisiana presumes 15 cancers are job-related, and others count when tied to exposure.
The law here: La. R.S. 33:2011. You'd use this law for line-of-duty benefits and for job-related injury coverage.
Presumed means the law assumes your job caused the cancer, so your employer has to show it came from something else. Louisiana's cancer law is separate from workers' comp, which is the insurance that pays medical bills and lost pay when work makes you sick.
Conditions under Louisiana's law
- Your service lasted 10 years or more.
- Serving as a firefighter within the classified service is a requirement.
- Heat, smoke, radiation, or a substance known or suspected to cause cancer must be able to cause your cancer type.
- If you were still working, or your service had ended, on or after January 1, 2023, you need a diagnosis before age 65.
- Once you leave the job, the diagnosis must come within a set time. For some firefighters that can run up to 120 months.
The job is treated as the cause of your cancer, but your employer can claim something else caused it.
Questions about your diagnosis, your service record or your deadline go to the claims line: +1 833 853 0496
Cancers Louisiana covers
Other cancers can qualify when firefighters are shown to face a significantly higher risk, and job exposures such as heat or smoke caused them.
| Cancer | Covered in Louisiana? |
|---|---|
| Bladder cancer | Yes |
| Brain cancer | Yes |
| Colon or rectal cancer | Yes |
| Esophagus cancer | Yes |
| Kidney cancer | Yes |
| Leukemia | Yes |
| Liver cancer | Yes |
| Multiple myeloma | Yes |
| Non-Hodgkin lymphoma | Yes |
| Ovarian, cervical or uterine cancer | Yes |
| Pancreatic cancer | Yes |
| Prostate cancer | Yes |
| Skin cancer, melanoma included | Yes |
| Stomach cancer | Yes |
| Testicular cancer | Yes |
| Cancer of the breastOnly when a statistically significant increased risk is shown for firefighters | If linked to your work |
| Cancer of the lungsOnly when a statistically significant increased risk is shown for firefighters | If linked to your work |
| MesotheliomaOnly when a statistically significant increased risk is shown for firefighters | If linked to your work |
| Cancer of the throat or mouthOnly when a statistically significant increased risk is shown for firefighters | If linked to your work |
| Cancer of the thyroidOnly when a statistically significant increased risk is shown for firefighters | If linked to your work |
Filing a firefighter cancer claim in Louisiana: how does it work?
- Ask your department or its pension or benefit board how to file for job-related injury benefits and line-of-duty benefits, and refer to the law (La. R.S. 33:2011). 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 Louisiana Workforce Commission, Office of Workers' Compensation. Louisiana's cancer law does not help with that one, so your doctor has to say in writing that your work caused the cancer.
- Pull together your diagnosis, the dates you were hired and served, your fire and exposure records, and any physical exam results.
- 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.