MISSION, Texas — A firefighter who is battling cancer was granted worker’s compensation by a judge after being denied coverage by the city’s insurance carrier.
Valley Central reported that Mission Fire Department firefighter Homer Salinas was diagnosed with kidney cancer, but the insurance carrier claimed it was not related to his work and would not cover treatment costs.
“When I went ahead and submitted all the paperwork, the TML, which is the insurance carrier for the city, denied me,” Salinas said.
Salinas appealed the decision Nov. 2017, and a judge recently ruled in his favor.
“We showed them that all the carcinogens, all the hazardous materials that I’ve been exposed to, all the number of calls,” Salinas said. “And the judge ruled in our favor – that our risk was higher than their risk they were trying to fight.”
Salinas said the city has “until the end of the month to appeal.”
“It’s great that he ruled in my favor, it’s a good step, it’s a big step, but it’s not all the way through – this job isn’t finished all the way through.”
Salinas added that the legal battle was worth it to help his “brothers and sisters.”
“All I want to do is just come back to work, and have things go back to normal but I’m always going to keep up the fight ... to help my brothers and sisters.”
Salinas is now in remission and back on the job.
“I came back to work, and I love it. I’m in remission now and I only go back for check-ups and right now we’re just going to take it one day at a time.”