Former Polk County Firefighter/Paramedic Christina Pierson is suing the county after she was denied a $25k benefit passed by the state legislature.
Pierson was diagnosed with lung cancer while on the job and applied for the benefit signed into law by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in 2019.
The law lists 21 forms of cancer that can result from that hazardous environment firefighters work in and is intended to help with the lost wages and medical bills associated with the work-related illness, Fox 13 News reported.
Pierson, healthy and a non-smoker, applied for the benefit and was denied. "For them to turn around and say, ‘Huh, sorry. You’re on your own.’ It’s pitiful," she told Fox 13 News.
The lawyer representing Pierson said employers typically deny claims, if there is a reason or way to deny it they will.
Other Florida firefighters have filed claims since the law went into effect. In one case, the city of St. Petersburg denied a claim for the cancer benefit and had to pay it after a court overruled the city.
In the St. Petersburg case, the judge stated that the statute does not restrict benefits based upon a diagnosis of cancer that occurred prior to the effective date.
