Alaska Supreme Court Reinstates Award of Benefits to Firefighter in Prostate Cancer Case

ANCHORAGE –– The Alaska Supreme Court has reinstated a workers’ compensation board’s award of benefits to a former firefighter, finding that he had in fact met requirements for a presumption that certain illnesses are work-related and was entitled to benefits.

In the Aug. 29 decision, the Alaskan high court opined that if the firefighter’s employer wanted to rebut the presumption, it had to present evidence “personal to the claimant.”

John Adamson filed the initial claim, contending that his employment as a firefighter for nearly 30 years exposed him to carcinogens in smoke –– including cadmium, arsenic, benzene and diesel exhaust …