H05542016 Regular Session

Amends existing law to provide that compensation shall be payable for disability or death resulting from certain firefighter occupational diseases, to provide a presumption of proximate causation between specified diseases and employment as a firefighter, to provide for rebuttal of the presumption, to provide for the demonstration of causal connection, to provide that the presumption shall not apply under certain circumstances and to clarify that employment shall be within the State of Idaho.

WORKER'S COMPENSATION - Amends existing law to provide that compensation shall be payable for disability or death resulting from certain firefighter occupational diseases, to provide a presumption of proximate causation between specified diseases and employment as a firefighter, to provide for rebuttal of the presumption, to provide for the demonstration of causal connection, to provide that the presumption shall not apply under certain circumstances and to clarify that employment shall be within the State of Idaho.

WORKER'S COMPENSATION

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

This bill addresses the nearly impossible burden of proving occupational diseases associated with firefighting within the workers compensation system. Research has established that firefighters are significantly more likely to develop certain types of cancer than the general population. Under current law, the burden of proof for these known occupational diseases is nearly impossible to overcome as exposures are chronic, occur over long periods of time, and are uncertain regarding specific toxins and carcinogens present at any given structure fire. This bill would change existing workers compensation law so that it would be presumed that such diseases were occupationally related unless medical evidence showed otherwise.