A Pennsylvania appellate court has ruled against the City of Chester in its appeal of a workers compensation award for a former firefighter who developed cancer.
Commonwealth Court on Thursday issued a ruling in the case of City of Chester v. John Gresch and Nether Providence Township, determining Mr. Gresch was properly awarded medical and indemnity benefits after being diagnosed with kidney cancer.
Mr. Gresch worked as a city firefighter for 37 years and took a position as fire marshal with nearby Nether Providence Township in 2015 following his firefighting retirement.
A comp judge approved benefits for Mr. Gresch and denied a petition by the city contesting responsibility, concluding the township wasn’t liable for the cancer because Mr. Gresch contracted the disease relating to his decades-long city firefighting career.
The city argued the township bore partial responsibility because it was the more recent employer to expose Mr. Gresch to carcinogens. The cancer diagnosis came two years into Mr. Gresch’s employment with the township.
In its decision, the appeals court said Mr. Gresch was only exposed to six or seven fires while employed by the township, and that his fire marshal duties didn’t involve active firefighting. By contrast, the court wrote, Mr. Gresch responded to 12 fires per month while employed by the city over a 37-year period.