The PFANJ has partnered with law firms of: Rothenberg, Rubenstein, Berliner & Shinrod, LLC and Vespi Law Firm, LLC so that our members and their families have the available assistance when filing a claim under the Thomas P. Canzanella 21st Century First Responders Protection Law.
The process to start to file a claim under the “The Thomas P. Canzanella 21st Century First Responders Protection Act” is by filing a Formal Claim petition. This process requires some technical and legally appropriate language with which the average firefighter will not be familiar. The Thomas Canzanella Act was enacted to protect first responders and their families, giving them a legally effective remedy for cancer and many other occupational diseases caused by service as first responders. If you have been diagnosed with a disease which MAY have been caused by your job, you must take the first step, and call counsel familiar with the Act and its requirements and procedures. The statute of limitations runs two years from when you knew or should have known your condition was related to the job.
Do NOT wait: Contact counsel Damon A. Vespi, Esq. at (973) 229-0132 to start the process immediately.
Even with the new Thomas P. Canzanella law, the process can be long and demanding. If you have a question as to whether your condition can be caused, activated, accelerated, or exacerbated by your job as a firefighter, call counsel immediately at (973) 229-0132. Cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, skin diseases, and many other conditions can be linked to your exposures at work!
The “Thomas P. Canzanella 21st Century First Responders Protection Act” as it is today is a collaborate effort of the Unions, Legislators and Governors efforts to do what more than 44 other states in the United States have already accomplished, to write a law that would benefit Firefighters and all first responders in New Jersey. The bill was not originally named after Thomas Canzanella. For those who may not know, this legislation was championed by then- PFANJ President Thomas Canzanella in 2002 after working on "the pile" after 9/11. Tom was a Chief’s officer with the Hackensack Fire Department and was a member of NJ Task Force 1. The Task Force was mobilized and sent to NYC to assist with the rescue and recovery operation. Because of the magnitude of the devastation and loss of life, Tom as well as the rest of the United States knew at that moment the “job” of the first responder in the United States had changed forever. With the help of then NJFOP President Ed Brannigan, the bill was finally introduced in 2006 after Tom and Ed spent 4 years lobbying legislators and gathering information from other states in an effort to draft an all-encompassing bill.
Taking Action Against Occupational Cancer
If you’re fighting fires for a living, you are at increased risk of one day having to fight cancer as well. The complex mix of chemicals in smoke exposes fire fighters to carcinogens associated with a variety of cancers.