City of S. S.F. v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd.

*521 *885 Richard Johnson worked successively as a firefighter for the City of South San Francisco (CSSF) and for the City of Pacifica (Pacifica). He developed a nasopharyngeal cancer. Labor Code section 3212.1 1 establishes a presumption that cancer manifesting during and for a specified period following employment in certain public safety positions, including firefighters, arose out of and in the course of that employment. Section 5500.5, subdivision (a) (section 5500.5(a) ), however, limits employer liability for a cumulative injury to the employer who employed the applicant during the one year preceding the earliest of (1) the date of injury or (2) the last date of injurious exposure to the hazards that caused the injury. Thus, either CSSF or Pacifica would be potentially responsible for compensation for the entire injury, dependent upon the proper application of section 5500.5(a).

CSSF settled a workers' compensation claim by Johnson for this injury and petitioned for contribution from Pacifica. An arbitrator denied the petition, *886 ruling that evidence of the latency period for the cancer suffered by Johnson showed the injurious exposure under section 5500.5(a) occurred…