Compensation

My husband worked for the fire department for 22 years before retiring to go to work for his brother. He retired permanently in 1998 and, unfortunately, only got to enjoy it until he developed the esophageal cancer in 2004 and that would take his life a year later.

Workman's Compensation had a rule that they would only pay benefits to an ex fire fighter who suffered or died from esophageal cancer if he'd been on the job for a total of 25 years. This meant that, even though there was a chance that Dennis developed the disease from exposure to chemical fires he might have fought, there would be no compensation. I accepted this because I felt the rule was the rule and there was no sense in fighting it.

Today I received a phone call from CSIB (haven't a clue what those initials stand for) and a very nice gentleman told me that the fire fighters' union was making another claim for compensation for my husband's beneficiary...me. He wanted to know if I'd allow the union to represent me in the claim and I said yes.

I doubt very much that anything will come of this but, as I told my daughter, I feel very strongly that if Dennis' labors in a dangerous profession makes him and his family eleigible for any kind of compensation for the horrible illness that killed him, then I'm all for it. Dennis was first and foremost a responsible family man and one of the last things he did before he passed away was to attempt to make a claim for compensation. He knew he'd never benefit from it personally but he wanted whatever he could get for his family.

There is never a day that goes by that I don't think of my husband and mentally thank him for taking care of us. And today I'm thanking the fire fighters' union for not forgetting one of their own. It means a lot to me and I know it would mean a lot to Dennis to know that, even though he passed away 5 years ago, the union he supported for 22 years of his life hasn't forgotten him.