Tore Vassbotn has been a part-time firefighter at Stranda for over 20 years. When he was diagnosed with bladder cancer with spread five years ago, he simultaneously applied for occupational injury compensation from Nav. He thought that he has lived a healthy life. He could therefore see no other reason why he should receive the diagnosis than that he has inhaled at work as a firefighter. Nevertheless, he was refused. Had to collect documentation himself For five years, he has fought his battle to get occupational injury compensation. He has contacted professionals and collected documentation himself. – I think it is a complicated system. They require you to prove the connection yourself, he says. He appealed the case to Nav twice. Finally, the case was sent to the Social Security Court. – Being believed makes it easier mentally, says Tore Vassbotn Photo: Idun Aalbu Rasmussen / news This week he won in the social security court. – It was almost with tears in my eyes that I received that message. It is a battle that has been going on for several years now, he says. – Will have significance – This case is an important turnaround, where the Social Security Court finally accepts that a type of cancer can be caused in professions such as firefighters, says lawyer Anne-Gry Rønning-Aaby in the Trade Union. The result may have significance for others, the lawyer believes. In recent years, 76 per cent of firefighters with cancer have had their application for occupational injury compensation rejected, according to figures previously obtained by news. This despite the fact that fire constables get cancer more often than the rest of the population. The Norwegian Working Environment Institute (STAMI) has previously admitted that this is despite strict health requirements in the profession, which mean that they should be healthier than the rest of the population. Fire marshals have a general exposure to hazardous substances. Photo: Bjarte Johannesen / news – If you have had bladder cancer and worked as a firefighter, this ruling will be important. It recognizes that bladder cancer can be caused by occupational exposure, she says. Today, firefighters themselves have to prove that the cancer is probably related to the profession. Fire constable Tore Vassbotn has spent many hours on just this. – It has been a great job. If you are sick and unwell, you have no chance, he says. Want to change the law The trade union is now working to change the legislation to make it easier to prove a connection between the profession and cancer cases. Today, fire constables must document which substances they are exposed to, which can be difficult. In the countries of Canada, the USA and Australia, fire marshals are believed until proven otherwise. The Trade Union wants such legislation. – It is very difficult for the individual who has fallen ill. This is especially true when working against a professional system such as Nav and the state’s occupational health workers, says lawyer Aaby. This is what Nav has previously stated about the case This is what Nav replied about the case 21 December 2021 Senior advisor Jens Mykland in the professional department at Nav answers: – Why do you think that Tore Vassbotn did not get cancer because of his profession as a firefighter? In this case, a specialist report was obtained from the occupational medicine department at Haukeland University Hospital. Occupational medicine concluded in August 2018 that meta-analyses and overview articles have not documented that working as a firefighter gives a higher risk of bladder cancer, and that the exposure to the relevant influences has not been of such intensity and duration that they could induce the disease. We therefore believe that it is not sufficiently documented that there is a connection between the impact he has been exposed to as a firefighter and the illness he contracted. For this reason, we rejected his application for approval of an occupational disease. In connection with the appeal against our refusal, we obtained further specialist statements from Haukeland University Hospital in 2019, again the specialist concluded that there was not a sufficient connection between the influences he was exposed to in his profession as a firefighter and the cancer. – 7 out of 9 firefighters with cancer who applied for occupational injury compensation were refused. Why are so few people believed to have fallen ill because of their profession? An approval of an occupational disease requires that the conditions of the National Insurance Act are met. One of these conditions is that the disease picture is characteristic, and in accordance with what the relevant influence can induce. Most cases involving prostate cancer are rejected because this condition is not met. The harmful occupational exposure must be able to induce the disease in question. It is not required that the occupational exposure has actually caused the disease, but it must be possible. When assessing this, Nav bases itself on specialist opinions and medical research. Medical consensus or agreement in the medical professional environment in Norway is important for the assessment. – Do you agree that the burden of proof now lies with the individual firefighter? It is basically the person applying for approval who must document that the conditions in the National Insurance Act have been met. Nav nevertheless has an independent duty to investigate the cases, by obtaining medical assessments and information about the work situation.
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