Family sues Puyallup for firefighter's death

The family of a former Puyallup firefighter who died of leukemia has sued the city, contending the city and its insurer illegally denied him coverage for an occupational disease.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Pierce County Superior Court, the family of David Potter accuses the city of Puyallup of stonewalling his claims for medical benefits, preventing him from getting a bone-marrow transplant that might have saved his life.

The city says that's not true.

Potter, a 53-year-old battalion chief, died of T-cell lymphocytic leukemia June 1, 2006, less than a year after learning he had the aggressive cancer.

Under Washington law, cancer — along with respiratory and infectious diseases such as AIDS/HIV — is presumed to be an occupational disease for firefighters. That qualifies workers for additional benefits from the state Department of Labor and Industries.

For Potter, the extra benefits should have covered the $100,000 down payment required by Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center for a bone-marrow transplant, said J.D. Smith, a Seattle attorney representing Potter's three children.

The city and its insurer for large claims, Safety National Casualty, dragged out Potter's claim while trying to prove that his job did not cause the leukemia, Smith contends. In the meantime, Potter was unable to raise the down payment himself.

"The treatment that could have saved his life, he never got it," Smith said. "He thought [the city] would cover it."

Glenda Carino, a city spokeswoman, said the transplant was withheld for medical, not financial, reasons. She said the city will argue that Potter's cancer did not respond well enough to chemotherapy for him to receive a bone-marrow transplant, and Potter received all the medical treatments his doctors recommended.

Kyung Song: 206-464-2423 or ksong@seattletimes.com