Firefighter cancer presumption in Oregon
After 5 years of service, Oregon presumes 13 cancers are job-related.
Cited law: Or. Rev. Stat. § 656.802. Workers' comp claims use it, and so do city disability and retirement plans.
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 Oregon's law
- Your service lasted 5 years or more.
- This cancer rule does not cover volunteer firefighters.
- Once your paid firefighting job ends, you have 84 months (7 years) to file the claim.
- A doctor must have first diagnosed the cancer after July 1, 2009.
- A government employer, like a city or county, must have employed you.
- For prostate cancer, your diagnosis had to come before age 55.
- The cancer was diagnosed during your service, or within 7 years after your last day.
Your employer may say the cancer came from another source, like tobacco use, but that argument needs strong medical proof.
Questions about your diagnosis, your service record or your deadline go to the claims line: +1 833 853 0496
Cancers Oregon covers
| Cancer | Covered in Oregon? |
|---|---|
| Bladder cancer | Yes |
| Brain cancer | Yes |
| Breast cancer | Yes |
| Colon or rectal cancer | Yes |
| Leukemia | Yes |
| Lung cancerIt falls under the lung and respiratory disease presumption | Yes |
| Multiple myeloma | Yes |
| Non-Hodgkin lymphoma | Yes |
| Ovarian, cervical or uterine cancer | Yes |
| Prostate cancerOnly if first diagnosed before age 55 | Yes |
| Stomach cancer | Yes |
| Testicular cancer | Yes |
| Throat or mouth cancer | Yes |
| Esophagus cancer | Not named |
| Kidney cancer | Not named |
| Liver cancer | Not named |
| Mesothelioma | Not named |
| Pancreatic cancer | Not named |
| Skin cancer, melanoma included | Not named |
| Thyroid cancer | Not named |
A cancer labeled "Not named" can still be part of a workers' comp claim. A doctor must tie it to your job.
In Oregon, how does a firefighter file a workers' comp cancer claim?
- Write to your department that you have cancer and that you think the job is the cause. Keep a copy of it.
- Send your claim to the Oregon Workers' Compensation Division or use your employer's insurer. On the form, write the law (Or. Rev. Stat. § 656.802).
- Put together your diagnosis, your fire and exposure records, your hire and service dates, and any physical exam results.
- Start soon. Workers' comp claims have time limits for telling your employer and for filing, and some are short.
Look up another cancer · See the states that name each cancer