Code of Maine Rules › 90 - INDEPENDENT AGENCIES › 351 - WORKERS' COMPENSATION BOARD › Chapter 1 - PAYMENT OF BENEFITS › Section 351-1-10 - Cancer Presumption for Firefighters

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
This rule applies to all cases now pending before the
				  Workers' Compensation Board in which the evidence has not closed and in which
				  the statute applies. For all dates of injury occurring before the effective
				  date of these rules, sub-section
				  1 applies. For all dates of injury
				  occurring on and after the effective date of these rules, sub-section
				  2 applies.
1. If a firefighter claims that he has
				contracted a cancer defined in §328B(1)(A) , the firefighter shall be
				considered to have undergone a standard, medically acceptable test for evidence
				of the cancer for which the presumption is sought or evidence of the medical
				conditions derived from the disease, which test failed to indicate the presence
				or condition of the cancer for which the presumption is sought, if, during the
				time of employment as a firefighter, the firefighter underwent a standard
				physical exam with blood work and the examination and the blood work were not
				positive for the cancer for which the presumption is sought, or if the
				examination or blood work were positive for the cancer for which the
				presumption is sought, follow up tests ordered by the physician conducting the
				physical were determined to be negative for the cancer for which the
				presumption is sought.
2. If a
				firefighter claims that he has contracted a cancer defined in §328B(1)(A),
				the firefighter shall be considered to have undergone a standard, medically
				acceptable test for evidence of the cancer for which the presumption is sought
				or evidence of the medical conditions derived from the disease, which test
				failed to indicate the presence or condition of the cancer for which the
				presumption is sought, if, during the time of employment as a firefighter, the
				firefighter underwent a physical examination which included a complete history
				and physical examination, which included a history of malignancies regarding
				the firefighter's blood-related parents, grandparents or siblings, and a
				history of the firefighter's previous malignancies. The physical examination
				shall be considered complete if it included a lymph node and neurologic exam, a
				breast examination, and a testicular examination if a male. To be considered
				complete, an examination shall include blood count testing (CBC), metastolic
				profile (CMP) testing, and urinalysis testing. If a female firefighter is 40
				years or older, the examination should include a mammography, and if a female
				firefighter is 50 years or older, a colonoscopy. If a male firefighter is 50
				years or older, the examination shall include prostate examination and a
				colonoscopy. If any abnormality is disclosed during the examination or blood
				work for the cancer for which the presumption is sought and further testing
				reveals that the cancer for which the presumption is sought is not present, the
				examination shall be considered adequate for purpose of the application of the
				presumption. For the purpose of determining the completeness of an exam or
				testing for application of the presumption, the firefighter's age at the time
				of the exam is determinative.
3. If
				an examination or blood work is determined to be incomplete or positive for one
				or more cancers but not for the cancer for which the presumption is sought and
				the examination and blood work were complete and not positive for the cancer
				for which the presumption is sought, the firefighter is entitled to the
				presumption provided the remaining requirements of §328-B have been
				met.