After he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, Casper Fire Captain Jeff Atkinson wanted to spend his free time creating lasting memories with his two boys — he didn’t want to waste precious hours filling out paperwork or arguing his claim for worker’s compensation.
The captain filed for workers’ compensation after he became sick, his wife said, but he was denied. The couple could have appealed the decision or tried to file again, but there just didn’t seem to be enough time between surgeries, treatments, working and trying to raise two elementary-age kids.
“We didn’t really have the time or energy to fight what we thought was going to be a tough fight,” Kristen Atkinson, his wife, said.