2022 Montana Code Annotated
Title 39. Labor
Chapter 71. Workers' Compensation
Part 14. Presumptive Occupational Disease -- Firefighters
39-71-1402. Conditions for claiming presumptive occupational disease

39-71-1402.  (Temporary) Conditions for claiming presumptive occupational disease. (1) Except as provided in subsection (4), the following must be satisfied for the presumption in 39-71-1401 to apply:

(a) the firefighter must timely file a claim for a presumptive occupational disease under Title 39, chapter 71, as soon as the firefighter knows or should have known that the firefighter's condition resulted from a presumptive occupational disease; and

(b) (i) the firefighter must have undergone, within 90 days of hiring, a medical examination that did not reveal objective medical evidence or a family history of the presumptive occupational disease for which the presumption under 39-71-1401 is sought; and

(ii) the firefighter must have undergone subsequent periodic medical examinations at least once every 2 years.

(2) (a) Subsection (1)(b) does not require the employer of a firefighter to provide or pay for a medical examination, either at the time of hiring or during the subsequent term of employment.

(b) If the employer of a firefighter does not provide or pay for a medical examination under subsection (1)(b), the firefighter may satisfy the requirements of subsection (1)(b) by obtaining the medical examination at the firefighter's expense or at the expense of another party.

(3) To qualify for a presumptive occupational disease, a firefighter may not:

(a) be a regular user of tobacco products;

(b) have a history of regular tobacco use in the 10 years preceding the filing of the claim under subsection (1)(a); or

(c) have been exposed by a cohabitant who regularly and habitually used tobacco products within the home for a period of 10 or more years prior to the diagnosis.

(4) A firefighter who, prior to July 1, 2019, did not receive a medical examination as frequently as the intervals set forth in subsection (1)(b) is not ineligible on that basis for a presumptive occupational disease claim under 39-71-1401 and this section. (Void on occurrence of contingency--sec. 7, Ch. 158, L. 2019.)

History: En. Sec. 2, Ch. 158, L. 2019.