PHOENIX — A missing comma in Arizona’s presumptive cancer law is forcing firefighters to battle for workers’ compensation, an ABC15 Investigation found.
Matt O’Reilly, a Sun City firefighter with a decade of service, discovered he had cancer after a routine screening last year.
A surgeon removed his thyroid and 40 lymph nodes, 20 of which contained cancer.
“It was scary because I was asymptomatic. I had no symptoms,” said O’Reilly, who was only 37 when diagnosed.
His wife, Whitney, said the diagnosis has been difficult for the couple and their four children.
“It’s the hardest thing we’ve ever dealt with,” she said.
Arizona has a presumptive cancer law that presumes certain cancers are job-related for full-time firefighters.
O’Reilly applied for workers’ compensation, knowing his occupation put him at a higher risk for cancer. His claim was denied by the fire department’s workers’ compensation provider, Securis Insurance Pool, in August 2024, according to court records.
O’Reilly had adenocarcinoma, according to court filings. While adenocarcinoma appears on the state’s list of presumptive cancers, there’s no comma after the word “adenocarcinoma” in the law and before the words “or mesothelioma of the respiratory tract.”
Securis argued in court filings that adenocarcinoma is not a stand-alone cancer, but a description of some types of cancers, in this case – only those in the respiratory tract.
Which O’Reilly’s was not.
Dan Freiberg, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona, said O’Reilly isn’t alone. He said this type of cancer is commonly denied because of the punctuation problem. Freiberg said he is aware of “at least three or four” similar denials where firefighters had to fight for coverage.
“We don’t want our firefighters fighting for their rights,” he said. “Their rights are identified in legislation. They’re already written. We want them fighting for their health.”
Paul Boyer, a former Arizona lawmaker who sponsored legislation a few years ago that expanded cancer coverage for firefighters, said the intent was to have adenocarcinoma as a stand-alone cancer, not just when it’s related to the respiratory tract.
“This gentleman should be covered,” Boyer said when asked about O'Reilly's case.
The Industrial Commission of Arizona, the state agency that oversees workers’ compensation claims, even issued an advisory policy statement in January of this year, advising insurance carriers that:
“Adenocarcinoma, as applied within the scope of workers’ compensation claims shall be interpreted as a standalone condition and does not need to be “of the respiratory tract” to qualify under the workers’ compensation statutes.”
Court records show Securis argued in an October court filing that the commission’s policy statement “is advisory only.”
Cancer is a leading cause of death for firefighters, according to the Firefighter Cancer Alliance.
In Arizona, 166 firefighter cancer claims were covered under workers’ comp in fiscal 2025, according to an Industrial Commission report. No one knows exactly how many claims were denied; The state doesn’t track the number of denials.
But the firefighters’ union keeps close tabs on when members are denied.
As of early November, Freiberg said the union was involved in “seven to 10” denials for various reasons and said “that number fluctuates.”
While O’Reilly fought cancer, he also had to fight for more than a year to get workers’ compensation.
“You don’t want to think about money when you’re thinking about your life,” he said.
He appealed the denial to the Industrial Commission, where an administrative law judge first sided with Securis but ultimately sided with O’Reilly earlier this year, according to records.
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Securis Insurance appealed that decision in July to the Arizona Court of Appeals.
“That’s when my frustration kicked in,” O’Reilly said.
Records show Securis filed a 61-page opening brief with the state Court of Appeals in October.
As ABC15 was researching this story, Securis reversed its decision, telling ABC15 in a November 21 statement that the claim “has been fully resolved in favor of the injured worker.” Court records show the appeal was withdrawn, and a judge dismissed the case in late November.
Securis declined an on-camera interview request from ABC15. The company also declined to discuss details of O’Reilly’s case, citing privacy reasons.
Their statement goes onto say:
“Securis is hopeful that the legislature will clarify the presumptive cancer statute and the Industrial Commission’s position statement to ensure consistent guidance for Arizona firefighters.”
Sun City Fire Chief Rob Schmitz said the approval means O’Reilly will get reimbursed for medical expenses related to his cancer diagnosis. He also gets back the paid time off hours he used while on leave.
“I'm so ecstatic for him and his family,” Schmitz said, “to get the benefit that I believe he deserves.”
O’Reilly has since recovered and is back at work.
He is sharing his story to help other firefighters who are fighting for coverage.
“I don’t want the next guys to go through what I went through,” he said. “I want them to be able to focus on their healing and their recovery.”
Email ABC15 Investigator Anne Ryman at anne.ryman@abc15.com, call her at 602-685-6345, or connect on X.
