Firefighter cancer presumption in Vermont
After 5 years of service, Vermont presumes 18 cancers are job-related.
The law that applies is 21 V.S.A. § 601(11). It applies to workers' comp.
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 Vermont's law
- Your service lasted 5 years or more.
- For 10 years before your diagnosis, you used no tobacco products at any time.
- Your earliest recommended screening showed no cancer. It was either before you became a firefighter or no more than two years after July 1, 2007.
- Your diagnosis came no more than 10 years after your last active day as a firefighter.
- You're younger than 65.
The employer may say something besides firefighting caused your cancer, but must prove that's more likely than not.
Call about your Vermont claim
Questions about your diagnosis, your service record or your deadline go to the claims line: +1 833 853 0496
Cancers Vermont's law covers
| Cancer | Covered in Vermont? |
|---|---|
| Bladder cancer | Yes |
| Brain cancer | Yes |
| Breast cancer | Yes |
| Colon or rectal cancer | Yes |
| Esophagus cancerCovered under 'gastrointestinal tract' | Yes |
| Kidney cancer | Yes |
| Leukemia | Yes |
| Liver cancer | Yes |
| Lung cancer | Yes |
| Multiple myeloma | Yes |
| Non-Hodgkin lymphomaCovered under 'lymphoma' | Yes |
| Cancer of the ovary, cervix or uterusListed under 'reproductive system' | Yes |
| Pancreatic cancer | Yes |
| Prostate cancerListed under 'reproductive system' | Yes |
| Skin cancer, melanoma included | Yes |
| Stomach cancerCovered under 'gastrointestinal tract' | Yes |
| Testicular cancerListed under 'reproductive system' | Yes |
| Thyroid cancer | Yes |
| Mesothelioma | Not named |
| Throat or mouth cancer | Not named |
Even a cancer marked "Not named" may be part of a workers' comp claim, but a doctor must tie it to your job.
In Vermont, how do you file a workers' comp cancer claim as a firefighter?
- Put it in writing to your department: you have cancer and think the job caused it. Save a copy for yourself.
- Submit your claim to the Vermont Department of Labor - Workers' Compensation Division or file it through your employer's insurer. On the form, cite the law: 21 V.S.A. § 601(11).
- Pull together what you'll need: hire and service dates, the diagnosis, results from any physical exams, and records covering fires and exposures.
- Start soon. Workers' comp claims have time limits for telling your employer and for filing, and some are short.