John Blair — ADJ116469

John Blair, a Torrance police officer employed from 1982 to 2003, claimed industrial bladder cancer. The WCJ found the cancer presumptively industrial under Labor Code section 3212.1 and that defendant failed to rebut the presumption. Defendant argued on reconsideration that the presumption did not apply because the cancer manifested in 2018, 17 years after applicant stopped active work and beyond the extended presumption period (which ended October 26, 2006). The Board, relying on AME Dr. Majcher's opinion that bladder cancer has a 20-year latency period, found the cancer began 'developing' as early as 1998 while applicant was actively employed, triggering the presumption. The Board affirmed the WCJ's Findings and Order, holding the presumption applies where cancer develops during covered employment even if it manifests much later.