Firefighter cancer presumption in New Jersey
New Jersey's law names leukemia and presumes it is job-related after 7 years of service, plus other cancers linked to exposure.
The law behind this: N.J. Stat. Ann. § 34:15-31.8. It applies to workers' comp claims.
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 New Jersey's law
- Your service lasted at least 7 years.
- Coverage extends to volunteers, paid firefighters, and part-paid firefighters too.
- Leukemia qualifies, and so does any other cancer that heat, radiation, or a substance known or suspected to cause cancer can cause.
- You're still serving, or you're 75 or younger, or your active service ended no more than 20 years back.
- If your employer asks, you may need testing and monitoring, and your employer pays for it.
Your employer can claim something else caused your cancer, but must show that's more likely than not.
Questions about your diagnosis, your service record or your deadline go to the claims line: +1 833 853 0496
Cancers New Jersey's law covers
Cancers beyond the list count too, if heat, radiation, or a cancer-causing substance that's known or suspected can cause them.
| Cancer | Covered in New Jersey? |
|---|---|
| Leukemia | Yes |
| Bladder cancer | If linked to your work |
| Brain cancer | If linked to your work |
| Breast cancer | If linked to your work |
| Colon or rectal cancer | If linked to your work |
| Esophagus cancer | If linked to your work |
| Kidney cancer | If linked to your work |
| Liver cancer | If linked to your work |
| Lung cancer | If linked to your work |
| Mesothelioma | If linked to your work |
| Multiple myeloma | If linked to your work |
| Non-Hodgkin lymphoma | If linked to your work |
| Ovarian, cervical or uterine cancer | If linked to your work |
| Pancreatic cancer | If linked to your work |
| Prostate cancer | If linked to your work |
| Skin cancer, melanoma included | If linked to your work |
| Stomach cancer | If linked to your work |
| Testicular cancer | If linked to your work |
| Throat or mouth cancer | If linked to your work |
| Thyroid cancer | If linked to your work |
How do you file a workers' comp claim for cancer as a firefighter in New Jersey?
- Let your department know, in writing, that you have cancer and think the job caused it. Keep your own copy.
- File through your employer's insurer or with the New Jersey Division of Workers' Compensation, naming the law (N.J. Stat. Ann. § 34:15-31.8) on your form.
- Pull together your diagnosis, when you were hired, your service dates, any physical exam results, and records of your fires and exposures.
- Start soon. Workers' comp claims have time limits for telling your employer and for filing, and some are short.