A retired Seattle fire lieutenant is fighting to try to win coverage for treatment of a work-related cancer.
William Boynton, who served as a Seattle firefighter for nearly 26 years, was diagnosed with cancer last year.
KIRO 7 News reports that the State Department of Labor and Industries approved Boynton’s medical treatment for Myelofibrosis, confirming the disease was work-related. However, when Boynton filed a workers’ compensation claim with the City of Seattle, which is self-insured, his claim was denied—despite the city also confirming his illness was job-related.
Boynton’s wife, Melissa Kennedy, told KIRO 7 her husband needs a stem cell transplant to survive, but the city considers the billing code for the procedure as part of stem cell therapy, which is not covered.
Kennedy said she provided the city with all necessary hospital documents supporting her husband’s diagnosis, but the city has refused to reconsider.
Kennedy urged the city and state to reconsider their policies so that other families do not have to endure the same struggle. She has appealed the city’s decision to the state and expects an answer by the 20th of February.
