Firefighter Claims

Timing is critical, and the rules differ depending on the type of claim. The WC15, the Worker’s Claim for Compensation form, must be filed with the Colorado Division of Workers’ Compensation, and filing it may protect some of your rights. Importantly, any notice required to be filed by an injured employee may be made and filed by anyone on behalf of such claimant, meaning your attorney can handle the filing for you.

Filing this form may protect some of your rights. For claims involving occupational diseases like cancer, the deadline is measured not from first exposure but from the point a reasonable person would recognize the condition as serious and work-related, which means the clock may start later than you think.

To reopen a resolved claim, the request must be filed within six years from the date of injury or two years from the date the last benefits became due and payable, whichever is longer.

Deadlines in firefighter occupational disease cases are fact-specific and can be affected by your exposure history, diagnosis date, and whether your employer reported the injury. Do not assume time has passed; contact Kaplan Morrell for a free consultation before concluding a deadline has run.

Yes. Under Colorado’s Workers’ Compensation Act, volunteer firefighters are expressly included in the definition of “employee” for purposes of coverage. Colorado’s Division of Workers’ Compensation confirms that immigration status, and by extension, employment classification, is not a barrier to pursuing a workers’ compensation claim, and all employees have the right to do so.

Volunteer firefighters are covered while actively performing duties and during organized drills and training. Those years of volunteer service can also count toward the five-year employment threshold required to trigger cancer presumption protections under C.R.S. § 8-41-209. If you served as a volunteer before joining a paid department, your full service history matters.

Contact Kaplan Morrell for a free consultation to understand exactly how your service record affects your eligibility

Under C.R.S. § 8-41-209, Colorado law covers cancer of the brain, skin, digestive system, hematological system, or genitourinary system for firefighters with five or more years of employment. This includes cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, bladder cancer, and brain cancer.

The presumption applies if, at the time of becoming a firefighter or thereafter, the firefighter underwent a physical examination that failed to reveal substantial evidence of the condition predating their employment. Once that threshold is met, it is the employer or insurer, not the firefighter, who must show by a preponderance of the medical evidence that the condition did not occur on the job.

These claims are among the most aggressively contested. Kaplan Morrell has been named the exclusive workers’ compensation firm for the Greeley Fire Department and has experience challenging insurer denials of firefighter cancer claims.

Yes, your claim can be denied, and it happens regularly. Presumptive coverage is a legal protection, not a guarantee of payment.

Under C.R.S. § 8-41-209, the presumption that a covered cancer is work-related can be rebutted if the employer or insurer demonstrates by a preponderance of the medical evidence that the condition did not occur on the job.

Insurers routinely challenge claims by disputing years of service, pointing to lifestyle factors, or arguing that a pre-employment exam revealed prior conditions. Presumptive coverage shifts the burden of proof onto the insurer, but it does not end the fight.

Kaplan Morrell has over 25 years of experience standing with firefighters across Colorado to ensure their claims are taken seriously and knows the arguments insurers use to avoid paying valid claims.