Andrew McLeod’s fireman dad Jock has compo claim awarded after three years of fighting

JOCK McLeod was on the brink of giving up but a single phone call convinced the veteran firefighter to keep demanding compensation for a cancer he contracted during a career of almost 50 years.

Jock McLeod with his son, former Adelaide Crows footballer Andrew McLeod, welcome the news. Picture: Calum Robertson

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JOCK McLeod was on the brink of giving up but a single phone call convinced the veteran firefighter to keep demanding compensation for a cancer he contracted during a career of almost 50 years.

After countless doctors’ appointments, chemotherapy and three knock-backs from insurer TIO, the father of Crows’ great Andrew McLeod, had almost had enough. In a message to his fellow firefighters, Mr McLeod said he had one avenue of appeal left through NT WorkSafe.

“I was about to give up on all of this as I could see no end to what the insurance company were doing to me,” he said. “This was weighing heavily on my physical and mental wellbeing.”

But a phone call from someone he said he “greatly respected”, pleading for him to have one last shot, gave him the strength to go on. “I decided to appeal and was examined and assessed by the three doctors that formed the panel.

“My previous claims were turned down as I was being assessed using American Medical Association 4 (AMA4) guidelines, (but) it was noted in my report that it appears that AMA4 is not suitable for firefighter assessments for carcinomas,” he said. “This is a victory for all firefighters.”

Mr McLeod, who is now in Adelaide spending time with his son, said retirement was getting sweeter every day — but the compensation was hardly exorbitant. “I won’t be buying a place in Fannie Bay (in Darwin) or driving around in a Porsche, put it that way,” he said.

The veteran NT firefighter, who retired after almost 50 years, received a call this week to confirm that his appeal through NT WorkSafe had been accepted. “I don’t know how to feel because I didn’t expect it to happen,” he said. “It’s great for all firefighters.”

He has been battling bladder cancer since 2013, contracted as a direct result of prolonged exposure to toxic hydrocarbons in fire fumes.

His fight helped enact major reforms to the NT Government’s workers’ compensation scheme in 2014. This means firefighters who contracted 12 specified cancers on the job will be covered by presumptive legislation.

Mr McLeod’s cancer was one of the 12 covered under legislation but after reneging on a vow to pay, TIO had refused to pay for the third time.