Firefighter cancer presumption in Missouri
In Missouri, 17 cancers are presumed to come from your work, and the rule also presumes others if tied to exposure.
The statute is Mo. Rev. Stat. § 87.006. Fire pension disability and death benefits rely on it.
Presumed means the law assumes your job caused the cancer, so your employer has to show it came from something else. Missouri'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 Missouri's law
- This rule covers paid firefighters only, so volunteers don't qualify.
- Within five years before your claim, you passed a physical exam, and the cancer did not show up in it.
- Your cancer leads to total or partial disability, or to death.
- No proof shows, with reasonable medical certainty, that your own tobacco use caused or worsened the cancer.
- You serve as a uniformed member of your fire department.
The job is the presumed source of your cancer, though your employer may claim another cause.
Questions about your diagnosis, your service record or your deadline go to the claims line: +1 833 853 0496
Cancers Missouri's law covers
Your cancer can also count when heat, radiation, or a substance that is a known or suspected cause of cancer may be the source.
| Cancer | Covered in Missouri? |
|---|---|
| Bladder cancer | Yes |
| Brain cancer | Yes |
| Breast 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 |
| Throat or mouth cancer | Yes |
| Cancer of the lungsThe respiratory system isn't listed; it's covered only when tied to a carcinogen | If linked to your work |
| MesotheliomaCovered only if carcinogen-related | If linked to your work |
| Thyroid cancerNot listed; covered only if carcinogen-related | If linked to your work |
How can you file a claim for firefighter cancer in Missouri?
- Ask your department or its pension or benefit board what the process is to request fire pension disability and death benefits, and point them to the law (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 87.006). 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 Missouri Division of Workers' Compensation. Missouri's cancer law does not help with that one, so your doctor has to say in writing that your work caused the cancer.
- Collect these items: your diagnosis, the dates you were hired and served, any results from physical exams, and your records of fires and exposures.
- 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.
Look at another cancer · See the states that name each cancer