TITLE 72

WORKER’S COMPENSATION AND RELATED LAWS — INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION

CHAPTER 4

BENEFITS

72-438.  Occupational diseases. Compensation shall be payable for disability or death of an employee resulting from the following occupational diseases:

(1)  Poisoning by lead, mercury, arsenic, zinc, or manganese, their preparations or compounds in any occupation involving direct contact therewith, handling thereof, or exposure thereto.

(2)  Carbon monoxide poisoning or chlorine poisoning in any process or occupation involving direct exposure to carbon monoxide or chlorine in buildings, sheds, or enclosed places.

(3)  Poisoning by methanol, carbon bisulphide, hydrocarbon distillates (naphthas and others) or halogenated hydrocarbons, or any preparations containing these chemicals or any of them, in any occupation involving direct contact therewith, handling thereof, or exposure thereto.

(4)  Poisoning by benzol or by nitro, amido, or amino-derivatives of benzol (dinitro-benzol, anilin and others) or their preparations or compounds in any occupation involving direct contact therewith, handling thereof, or exposure thereto.

(5)  Glanders in the care or handling of any equine animal or the carcass of any such animal.

(6)  Radium poisoning by or disability due to radioactive properties of substances or to roentgen ray (X-ray) in any occupation involving direct contact therewith, handling thereof, or exposure thereto.

(7)  Poisoning by or ulceration from chromic acid or bichromate of ammonium, potassium, or sodium or their preparations, or phosphorus preparations or compounds, in any occupation involving direct contact therewith, handling thereof, or exposure thereto.

(8)  Ulceration due to tar, pitch, bitumen, mineral oil, or paraffin, or any compound product, or residue of any of these substances, in any occupation involving direct contact therewith, handling thereof, or exposure thereto.

(9)  Dermatitis venenata, that is, infection or inflammation of the skin, furunculosis excepted, due to oils, cutting compounds, lubricants, liquids, fumes, gases, or vapors in any occupation involving direct contact therewith, handling thereof, or exposure thereto.

(10) Anthrax occurring in any occupation involving the handling of or exposure to wool, hair, bristles, hides, skins, or bodies of animals either alive or dead.

(11) Silicosis in any occupation involving direct contact with, handling of, or exposure to dust of silicon dioxide (SiO2).

(12) Cardiovascular or pulmonary or respiratory diseases of a firefighter, employed by or volunteering for a municipality, village or fire district as a regular member of a lawfully established fire department, caused by overexertion in times of stress or danger or by proximate exposure or by cumulative exposure over a period of four (4) years or more to heat, smoke, chemical fumes or other toxic gases arising directly out of, and in the course of, his employment.

(13) Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), AIDS-related complexes (ARC), other manifestations of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections, infectious hepatitis viruses and tuberculosis in any occupation involving exposure to human blood or body fluids.

(14)  Firefighter occupational diseases:

(a)  As used in this subsection, "firefighter" means an employee whose primary duty is that of extinguishing or investigating fires as part of a fire district, fire department or fire brigade.

(b)  If a firefighter is diagnosed with one (1) or more of the following diseases after the period of employment indicated in subparagraphs (i) through (xi) of this paragraph, and the disease was not revealed during an initial employment medical screening examination that was performed according to such standards and conditions as may be established at the sole discretion of the governing board having authority over a given fire district, fire department, or fire brigade, then the disease shall be presumed to be proximately caused by the firefighter’s employment as a firefighter:

(i)   Brain cancer after ten (10) years;

(ii)  Bladder cancer after twelve (12) years;

(iii) Kidney cancer after fifteen (15) years;

(iv)  Colorectal cancer after ten (10) years;

(v)   Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after fifteen (15) years;

(vi)  Leukemia after five (5) years;

(vii) Mesothelioma after ten (10) years;

(viii) Testicular cancer after five (5) years if diagnosed before the age of forty (40) years with no evidence of anabolic steroids or human growth hormone use;

(ix)  Breast cancer after five (5) years if diagnosed before the age of forty (40) years without a breast cancer 1 or breast cancer 2 genetic predisposition to breast cancer;

(x)   Esophageal cancer after ten (10) years; and

(xi)  Multiple myeloma after fifteen (15) years.

(c)  The presumption created in this subsection may be overcome by substantial evidence to the contrary. If the presumption is overcome by substantial evidence, then the firefighter or the beneficiaries must prove that the firefighter’s disease was caused by his or her duties of employment.

(d)  The presumption created in this subsection shall not preclude a firefighter from demonstrating a causal connection between employment and disease or injury by a preponderance of evidence before the Idaho industrial commission.

(e)  The presumption created in this subsection shall not apply to any specified disease diagnosed more than ten (10) years following the last date on which the firefighter actually worked as a firefighter as defined in paragraph (a) of this subsection. Nor shall the presumption apply if a firefighter or a firefighter’s cohabitant has regularly and habitually used tobacco products for ten (10) or more years prior to the diagnosis.

(f)  The periods of employment described in paragraph (b) of this subsection refer to periods of employment within the state of Idaho.

Recognizing that additional toxic or harmful substances or matter are continually being discovered and used or misused, the above enumerated occupational diseases are not intended to be exclusive, but such additional diseases shall not include hazards that are common to the public in general and that are not within the meaning of section 72-102(21)(a), Idaho Code, and the diseases enumerated in subsection (12) of this section pertaining to firefighters shall not be subject to the limitations prescribed in section 72-439, Idaho Code.

History:

[72-438, added 1971, ch. 124, sec. 3, p. 422; am. 1973, ch. 108, sec. 1, p. 193; am. 1981, ch. 261, sec. 8, p. 557; am. 1989, ch. 155, sec. 14, p. 394; am. 1990, ch. 188, sec. 1, p. 417; am. 2001, ch. 212, sec. 1, p. 837; am. 2006, ch. 206, sec. 5, p. 634; am. 2016, ch. 276, sec. 2, p. 763; am. 2021, ch. 82, sec. 4, p. 271.]