No Line-of-Duty Disability Benefits for Firefighter Who Died From Cancer

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld the denial of line-of-duty disability benefits under the Emergency and Law Enforcement Personnel Death Benefits Act for the death of a firefighter from metastatic colon cancer. Case: Estate of Tratthen v. Department of General Services, No. 1089 C.D. 2024, 02/02/2026, published. Facts: Thomas R. Tratthen began working as a volunteer firefighter in the early 1990s. He also worked as a full-time paid firefighter for Dunmore Borough from 2000 to 2007, and then as a part-time paid firefighter for Dunmore Borough until he was diagnosed with metastatic...