Firefighter cancer presumption in Michigan
After 5 years of service, Michigan presumes 14 cancers are job-related.
Michigan's law on this is Mich. Comp. Laws § 418.405. It applies to workers' comp, with claims going through a state fund for first responders.
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 Michigan's law
- Your service lasted 5 years at minimum.
- If your cancer was diagnosed on or after January 1, 2022, and you're a volunteer, part-time or paid on-call member, you're covered.
- Exposure to the hazards of rescue, fire suppression, or emergency medical services must have been part of your work.
- You can't have smoked cigarettes or used other tobacco heavily and regularly in the 10 years leading up to your injury date.
- First, you must apply for any pension benefits you might qualify for, or show that you are not eligible.
- Your claim must go to the Christopher R. Slezak fund, and any claim against your employer must pause while the fund pays you.
Scientific evidence lets the other side argue that something else caused your cancer.
Questions about your diagnosis, your service record or your deadline go to the claims line: +1 833 853 0496
Cancers Michigan's law covers
| Cancer | Covered in Michigan? |
|---|---|
| Bladder cancer | Yes |
| Brain cancer | Yes |
| Breast cancer | Yes |
| Kidney cancer | Yes |
| Leukemia | Yes |
| Lung cancer | Yes |
| Multiple myeloma | Yes |
| Non-Hodgkin lymphoma | Yes |
| Prostate cancer | Yes |
| Skin cancer, melanoma included | Yes |
| Testicular cancer | Yes |
| Thyroid cancer | Yes |
| Cancer of the ovary, cervix or uterusThe list covers ovarian cancer, and cervical cancer too when HPV didn't cause it; uterine cancer isn't included | Partly |
| Mouth or throat cancerCancers of the voice box and throat fall under respiratory cancers; mouth cancer is probably not covered | Partly |
| Colon or rectal cancer | Not named |
| Esophagus cancer | Not named |
| Liver cancer | Not named |
| Mesothelioma | Not named |
| Pancreatic cancer | Not named |
| Stomach cancer | Not named |
Workers' comp claims can still include a cancer marked "Not named," as long as a doctor connects it to your job.
In Michigan, how do you file a workers' comp claim for firefighter cancer?
- Let your department know in writing that you have cancer and that you think the job caused it. Save a copy for yourself.
- Your claim goes to the Workers' Disability Compensation Agency or to the insurer your employer uses. Name the law that applies (Mich. Comp. Laws § 418.405) on your form.
- Collect your diagnosis, the dates you were hired and served, any physical exam results, and records of your fire and exposure history.
- Start soon. Workers' comp claims have time limits for telling your employer and for filing, and some are short.