35-1001 Death or disability as a result of cancer; death or disability as a result of certain diseases; prima facie evidence.
35-1001. Death or disabilityas a result of cancer; deathor disability as a result of certain diseases; prima facie evidence.(1) Fora firefighter or firefighter-paramedic who is a member of a paid fire departmentof a municipality or a rural or suburban fire protection district in thisstate, including a municipality having a home rule charter or a municipal authority created pursuant to a home rulecharter that has its own paid fire department, and who suffersdeath or disability as a result of cancer, including, but not limited to,cancer affecting the skin or the central nervous, lymphatic, digestive, hematological,urinary, skeletal, oral, or prostate systems, evidence which demonstratesthat (a) such firefighter or firefighter-paramedicsuccessfully passed a physical examination upon entry into such service orsubsequent to such entry, which examination failed to reveal any evidenceof cancer, (b) such firefighter or firefighter-paramedicwas exposed to a known carcinogen, as defined on July 19, 1996, by the InternationalAgency for Research on Cancer, while in the service of the fire department,and (c) such carcinogen is reportedby the agency to be a suspected or known cause of the type of cancer the firefighteror firefighter-paramedic has, shall be prima facie evidence that such deathor disability resulted from injuries, accident, or other cause while in theline of duty for the purposes of sections 16-1020 to 16-1042, a firefighter'spension plan established pursuant to a home rule charter, and a firefighter'spension or disability plan established by a rural or suburban fire protectiondistrict.(2) For a firefighteror firefighter-paramedic who is a member of a paid fire department of a municipalityor a rural or suburban fire protection district in this state, including amunicipality having a home rule charter or a municipal authority created pursuantto a home rule charter that has its own paid fire department, and who suffersdeath or disability as a result of a blood-borne infectious disease, tuberculosis,meningococcal meningitis, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus,evidence which demonstrates that (a) such firefighter or firefighter-paramedicsuccessfully passed a physical examination upon entry into such service orsubsequent to such entry, which examination failed to reveal any evidenceof such blood-borne infectious disease, tuberculosis, meningococcal meningitis,or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and (b) such firefighter orfirefighter-paramedic has engaged in the service of the fire department withinten years before the onset of the disease, shall be prima facie evidence thatsuch death or disability resulted from injuries, accident, or other causewhile in the line of duty for the purposes of sections 16-1020 to 16-1042,a firefighter's pension plan established pursuant to a home rule charter,and a firefighter's pension or disability plan established by a rural or suburbanfire protection district.(3) The prima facie evidence presumed under this section shall extendto death or disability as a result of cancer as described in this section,a blood-borne infectious disease, tuberculosis, meningococcal meningitis,or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus after the firefighter or firefighter-paramedicseparates from his or her service to the fire department if the death or disabilityoccurs within three months after such separation.(4) For purposes of thissection, blood-borne infectious disease means human immunodeficiency virus,acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, and all strains of hepatitis. SourceLaws 1996, LB 1076, § 45; Laws 2010, LB373, § 2.Effective Date: July 15, 2010