Firefighter cancer presumption in Maryland
Maryland presumes that 13 cancers are job-related once you've served 10 years.
The law behind this: Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 9-503. Workers' comp is where it applies.
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 Maryland's law
- Your service lasted at least 10 years.
- Volunteer firefighters are included if workers' comp covers them and they passed a suitable physical exam before their service began.
- A toxic substance you came across on the job must have caused the cancer.
- The cancer must leave you unable to do a firefighter's normal duties.
- A suitable physical exam, passed before you became a firefighter, is required.
- Paid firefighters must work for an airport authority, a county, a city or town, a fire control district or the State.
Call about your Maryland claim
Questions about your diagnosis, your service record or your deadline go to the claims line: +1 833 853 0496
Cancers Maryland covers
| Cancer | Covered in Maryland? |
|---|---|
| Bladder cancer | Yes |
| Brain cancer | Yes |
| Breast cancer | Yes |
| Colon or rectal cancer | Yes |
| Kidney cancer | Yes |
| Leukemia | Yes |
| Multiple myeloma | Yes |
| Non-Hodgkin lymphoma | Yes |
| Prostate cancer | Yes |
| Testicular cancer | Yes |
| Thyroid cancer | Yes |
| Cancer of the ovaries, cervix or uterusThe list names ovarian cancer alone; cervical and uterine cancer are left off | Partly |
| Cancer of the throat or mouthThe law names throat cancer; mouth cancer isn't listed | Partly |
| Esophagus cancer | Not named |
| Liver cancer | Not named |
| Lung cancer | Not named |
| Mesothelioma | Not named |
| Pancreatic cancer | Not named |
| Skin cancer, melanoma included | Not named |
| Stomach cancer | Not named |
A cancer marked "Not named" can still be part of a workers' comp claim, but a doctor must tie it to your work.
In Maryland, how do you file a workers' comp cancer claim as a firefighter?
- Put it in writing to your department: you have cancer and you believe the job caused it. Save a copy for yourself.
- Submit the claim through your employer's insurer or directly to the Maryland Workers' Compensation Commission, and name the law that applies (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 9-503) on your form.
- Collect your fire and exposure records, any physical exam results, your diagnosis, and the dates you were hired and served.
- Start soon. Workers' comp claims have time limits for telling your employer and for filing, and some are short.