Gary Hart (Decd) — ADJ12139544

Gary Hart, a Ventura County firefighter who worked from 1982 to 2010 and retired as a Battalion Chief, died of lung cancer-related complications in 2019. The WCJ found that Hart sustained industrial lung cancer under the Labor Code section 3212.1 cancer presumption (which extends up to 120 months after termination of service) and that this cancer was at least a minor contributing cause of his death. The defendant petitioned for reconsideration arguing the evidence did not link the lung cancer to Hart's death by reasonable probability. QME Dr. Sean Leoni initially attributed death solely to a non-industrial duodenal ulcer perforation but conceded on cross-examination that the lung cancer 'played a role,' albeit lesser. The WCAB adopted the WCJ's report, holding that under South Coast Framing v. WCAB, even a minor contributing industrial cause is sufficient to render a death compensable, and denied reconsideration.