A single missing comma in Arizona law almost cost a firefighter his cancer coverage.
ABC15 investigator Anne Ryman reports that Sun City firefighter Matt O’Reilly spent more than a year fighting for workers’ compensation after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer – not because anyone disputed that he was sick, but because of how one sentence in the law was punctuated.
For O’Reilly, that punctuation battle was happening at the same time as cancer surgery, recovery, and trying to hold his family together.
A “Healthy” 37-Year-Old Who Found Out He Had Cancer
According to Anne Ryman’s reporting, Matt O’Reilly had done everything right.
He had served as a firefighter in Sun City for about a decade. He worked out, ate clean, and thought of himself as healthy.
When his department made cancer screenings available, Ryman says it took some serious nudging from his wife Whitney to get him to actually go in. He “reluctantly” made the appointment.
Then came the phone call that changed everything.
O’Reilly tells Ryman he broke the news to his wife in their kitchen, while she was making breakfast and their kids watched TV. That’s when he told her he had cancer.
Doctors ultimately removed his entire thyroid and about 40 lymph nodes. Ryman reports that roughly 20 of those nodes tested positive for cancer. The surgery took about nine hours.
“It was scary because I was asymptomatic. I had no symptoms,” O’Reilly told Ryman. His wife added that the diagnosis and treatment were “the hardest thing we’ve ever dealt with” for their family of six.
Arizona’s Presumptive Cancer Law Meets A Missing Comma
Because Arizona has a presumptive cancer law for firefighters, O’Reilly believed his diagnosis would automatically be treated as work-related.
As Ryman explains it, the law assumes certain cancers in full-time firefighters are job-related, which makes it easier to qualify for workers’ compensation. The entire point is to recognize the elevated cancer risk firefighters face.
O’Reilly had adenocarcinoma, a type of cancer that appears on the state’s list of presumptive cancers. So he filed a workers’ comp claim through his department’s provider, Securis Insurance Pool, in August 2024.
Then the denial arrived.
Ryman reports that the key issue was a missing comma in the statute. In the list of covered cancers, the law includes “adenocarcinoma or mesothelioma of the respiratory tract.”
There is no comma after “adenocarcinoma” and before “or mesothelioma of the respiratory tract.”
Securis argued in court, according to Ryman, that this wording means adenocarcinoma is only covered when it is “of the respiratory tract.” In their view, “adenocarcinoma” is just a descriptor – a type of cancer – and not a standalone category unless tied to that specific body system.
O’Reilly’s thyroid cancer didn’t fit that narrow reading. So, despite the spirit of the law, his claim was denied.
This is where the case stops looking like an honest misunderstanding and more like a technical escape hatch. When a law is clearly meant to protect firefighters, using punctuation to limit coverage feels less like caution and more like an attempt to save money at their expense.
A Year-Long Legal Fight While Fighting Cancer
Ryman reports that while O’Reilly was dealing with surgery and recovery, he was also forced into a drawn-out legal fight over his benefits.
“You don’t want to think about money when you’re thinking about your life,” O’Reilly told her. But that’s exactly what happened.
He appealed the denial to the Industrial Commission of Arizona, the state agency that oversees workers’ comp claims. An administrative law judge initially sided with Securis, Ryman says.
Later, that same judge ultimately ruled in O’Reilly’s favor, recognizing his cancer as covered under the presumptive law.
Securis then appealed again, this time to the Arizona Court of Appeals, filing a 61-page brief. That’s the moment O’Reilly says his frustration really set in.
From the outside, it’s hard not to see the imbalance. On one side is a firefighter recovering from major cancer surgery. On the other side, a workers’ comp pool with lawyers, appeals, and a strategy built around a missing comma.
Even O’Reilly’s own chief stood behind him.
Sun City Fire Chief Rob Schmitz tells Ryman that when Matt came into his office and said he was going to appeal – which could mean suing the organization – Schmitz told him, “You need to do what’s right for you and your family, and I’ll support you all along the way.”
That kind of backing isn’t guaranteed in every department, and it likely made a huge difference in Matt feeling able to push back.
Union Leaders And Lawmakers Say The Intent Was Always Clear
Anne Ryman also spoke with Dan Freiberg, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona.
Freiberg says O’Reilly is far from the only firefighter facing this problem. He told Ryman that adenocarcinoma, especially papillary thyroid cancer, is “one of our most commonly denied cancers” because of the punctuation issue.
He estimates there are “at least three or four” similar denials over adenocarcinoma, and overall, the union is tracking seven to ten active denials for various reasons at any given time. That number, he says, fluctuates.
Freiberg’s message is blunt:
“We don’t want our firefighters fighting for their rights,” he told Ryman. “Their rights are identified in legislation. They’re already written. We want them fighting for their health.”
Former Arizona lawmaker Paul Boyer, who helped pass earlier bills expanding firefighter cancer coverage, also spoke with Ryman.
Boyer says the intent of the legislature was clear: adenocarcinoma was supposed to be treated as a standalone cancer, not limited only to the respiratory tract.
“This gentleman should be covered,” Boyer told her when asked about O’Reilly’s case.
The Industrial Commission of Arizona even stepped in with an advisory policy statement in January 2025, Ryman reports. The commission formally advised carriers that adenocarcinoma “shall be interpreted as a standalone condition” and does not need to be “of the respiratory tract” to qualify under workers’ comp statutes.
Securis, however, argued in court that the commission’s statement was “advisory only,” according to filings Ryman reviewed.
That disagreement over the weight of the policy shows just how fragile protections can be when they hinge on wording instead of clear, unambiguous language.
Securis Backs Down – But The Loophole Remains
As ABC15 and Anne Ryman were investigating the story, something changed.
Ryman reports that on November 21, Securis told ABC15 that O’Reilly’s claim had been “fully resolved in favor of the injured worker.” Court records show the appeal was withdrawn and the case was dismissed in late November.
Securis declined an on-camera interview with Ryman and refused to discuss specific details of O’Reilly’s case, citing privacy.
In a written statement, Ryman says the company claimed it is “hopeful that the legislature will clarify the presumptive cancer statute and the Industrial Commission’s position statement” to ensure consistent guidance for Arizona firefighters.
That’s a careful way of saying the law is still vague enough for this fight to happen again.
Sun City Fire Chief Rob Schmitz told Ryman that the resolution means O’Reilly will be reimbursed for his cancer-related medical expenses and will get back the paid time off he burned through while on leave. Schmitz said he was “ecstatic” for Matt and his family and believes he is finally getting the benefit he deserves.
O’Reilly has since recovered, returned to work, and is now sharing his story publicly.
“I don’t want the next guys to go through what I went through,” he told Ryman. “I want them to be able to focus on their healing and their recovery.”
That’s really the heart of this entire episode. A law meant to protect first responders turned into a year-plus legal battle over punctuation, while a 37-year-old firefighter tried to survive cancer.
A Warning For Every Firefighter – And Every Lawmaker
Ryman’s investigation also places O’Reilly’s story in a larger context.
Cancer is a leading cause of death among firefighters, according to groups like the Firefighter Cancer Alliance she cites. In Arizona alone, 166 firefighter cancer claims were covered under workers’ comp in fiscal year 2025, totaling about $5.6 million, according to the Industrial Commission.
No one tracks how many cancer claims were denied. That data gap is telling on its own.
From a policy standpoint, this case is a warning shot. If a missing comma can be used to delay coverage for a firefighter whose cancer type appears on the presumptive list, it means laws written to protect workers can be quietly hollowed out by technical arguments.
Ryman notes that many people she interviewed believe Arizona lawmakers need to fix this loophole. Securis itself, in its statement, now says it hopes the legislature will clarify the statute.
The question is whether the legislature will move fast enough – and whether it will write the fix in a way that leaves no room for similar hair-splitting in the future.
For now, thanks to the persistence of Matt O’Reilly, his family, supportive leadership, and the pressure brought by Anne Ryman’s reporting, one firefighter won his battle on both fronts.
The real test will be whether the next firefighter with a similar diagnosis has to go through the same ordeal just to get the protections the law was supposed to guarantee from the start.
Mark grew up in the heart of Texas, where tornadoes and extreme weather were a part of life. His early experiences sparked a fascination with emergency preparedness and homesteading. A father of three, Mark is dedicated to teaching families how to be self-sufficient, with a focus on food storage, DIY projects, and energy independence. His writing empowers everyday people to take small steps toward greater self-reliance without feeling overwhelmed.
