Fort Worth Fire Captain Brandon Rodriguez spent 29 years running into burning buildings. Now he is battling terminal brain and throat cancer, tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills, and a workers’ compensation system he says turned its back on him when he needed it most.
Rodriguez has spent the past three years fighting terminal brain and throat cancer. Despite his belief that his illness traces back to nearly three decades of firefighting, including exposure to toxic chemicals from a major industrial fire, his cancer was denied workers’ compensation coverage. He said this has cost him tens of thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses and depleted years of accumulated sick time.
Rodriguez believes his cancer is connected to the July 2005 Valley Solvents and Chemical Company explosion and fire in Fort Worth, a blaze that burned for hours and sent a plume of toxins and smoke into the air. He was among the responding crew. “The city knew cancer is going to be an issue in the future, and they wanted to track it,” Rodriguez said. “Now the frustrating part is they wanted to track it, but they don’t want to cover it.”
He is not alone. The CBS News Texas I-Team has been investigating a pattern of complaints from North Texas first responders who say they have fought workers’ compensation denials and delays after sustaining serious injuries or illnesses connected to their service.
Troy Clark, a 28-year Fort Worth firefighter who also responded to the Valley Solvents fire, was diagnosed with prostate cancer, one of the cancers on Texas’ presumptive list for firefighters. His claim was also denied. “It seems like we’re all getting denied,” Clark said. “It was heartbreaking to hear that this job that I loved for 20 years at the time and devoted my life to, they just told you no.”
Under Texas law passed in 2019, only 11 specific types of cancer qualify for automatic workers’ compensation coverage for firefighters. Any cancer outside that list requires firefighters to independently prove the disease was caused by their work, a burden that advocacy groups and legal experts say is nearly impossible to meet given how insurance carriers respond to claims.
Texas State Association of Fire Fighters District Vice President Beau Simpson said the issue affects thousands of first responders statewide, describing it as a massive and systemic problem. “The biggest thing is we’re in the same workers’ comp system as everyone else in Texas,” Simpson said. “Some in the general workforce may want to play the game. We just want to go back to work.”
Fort Worth reported 8,938 workers’ compensation claims between January 2021 and March 2026, with 722 initial denials. Dallas reported 9,485 claims during the same period, with 773 initial denials.
The issue gained wider attention after Fort Worth firefighter Caleb Halvorson, 27, was severely burned when a garage collapsed on him during a two-alarm house fire in September 2025. His family went public on social media after workers’ compensation denied and delayed portions of his care. The outcry led Fort Worth City Manager Jay Chapa to assign a dedicated case manager to Halvorson and create a new position within the city to help first responders navigate claims. The Fort Worth City Council subsequently addressed the issue in a public meeting. But for Rodriguez, those changes come too late.
Despite the frustration, Rodriguez says he holds onto what matters most. “I don’t want to go to heaven yet,” he said. “We have a batting cage. That’s where we hang out, it’s where we’ve hung out for our whole lives. They come home from school and we play catch.” He added that even though any changes in the law won’t help his own situation, he remains hopeful for future firefighters, including his two sons, who want to follow in his footsteps.
The City of Fort Worth said in a statement to CBS News Texas that it “remains committed to open communication and the well-being of all employees” and will continue to hire dedicated staff to assist first responders with claims navigation.