Glendale to reverse firefighter’s brain cancer claim decision after AZ Family report

GLENDALE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — One day after Arizona’s Family reported the city of Glendale denied firefighter Mark Fowl’s brain cancer claim, officials confirmed on Wednesday the city will approve the claim no matter what. His family will receive line-of-duty death benefits as they should by state law.

Fowl died from brain cancer on Monday after battling the disease for a year. He served with the Glendale Fire Department for 21 years. However, his cancer claim was denied by the city’s third-party insurer CorVel in October, even though brain cancer is on the list in the state law of occupational cancers that should be covered. As Arizona’s Family reported on Tuesday, the city has the power to reverse the decision, and it appears officials did just that. The Industrial Commission of Arizona Medical Panel is currently reviewing the denial, and its decision could take a few weeks, but it doesn’t matter since the city’s risk manager plans to approve the claim. Officials say they’ve informed Fowl’s wife and family of the decision.

This isn’t the first time this has happened with Glendale. In 2019, the city overturned CorVel’s decision to deny Glendale firefighter Kevin Thompson’s claim after months of Arizona’s Family investigations. But state Sen. Paul Boyer said overturning CorVel isn’t the only option. “I just want to remind Glendale and any other city out there that has a cancer claim that we intentionally provided $15 million for cities statewide to reimburse exactly these kinds of claims, and brain cancer is on the list,” said Boyer.

When asked about the reversal decisions for Fowl, city officials didn’t say much. “The city of Glendale is committed to treating its employees with compassion and understanding in everything we do. Tonight, we are mourning Mark Fowl’s loss and so we will not elaborate further on this personal matter,” a city spokeswoman said in a statement.

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