GLENDALE, AZ — A Glendale fire captain’s worker’s compensation claim was recently denied by the city after a diagnosis with a cancer common among 9/11 first responders.
A spokesperson for the city said Glendale Fire Captain Kevin Thompson's case is the fourth cancer compensation claim it has considered. One was accepted the other two were withdrawn by the firefighters who made them.
Thompson told ABC15 earlier this month he was going to appeal his denial to the Industrial Commission of Arizona. The city of Glendale said it was confident the commission would render a correct and fair decision.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich sent a letter to week to the Industrial Commission of Arizona, asking them to consider providing more assistance to “Arizona’s heroes.”
The letter says the AG’s office was “made aware of several troubling disputes…involving healthcare benefits for firefighters who suffer from various conditions, including certain forms of cancer.”
Brnovich asks the Industrial Commission of Arizona to “collect data” about the cases which will in turn help those affected, as well as policymakers.
“Firefighters are vital to our community. They are committed to being there for us and we must also be there for them,” Brnovich says at the end of the letter.
Currently, Thompson is one of at least nine Arizona firefighters who are in effect fighting local governments for a benefit they believe they earned and deserve. Other Valley cities which have hired third-party administrators to handle cancer claims include Phoenix, Chandler and Goodyear.
Mesa has said it will accept presumptive cancer compensation claims.
