The story of one Fort Worth firefighter’s long and difficult journey to recovery following serious injuries on the job has cast a spotlight on claims issues within the Texas workers’ compensation system.
On September 3, 2025, Caleb Halvorson helped battle a two-alarm house fire on the city’s historic Southside. The garage collapsed around him as he fought flames inside, leaving him buried in debris with severe burns. Now recovering at home with therapy and more surgeries ahead, Halvorson drew attention when his family claimed workers’ compensation denied and delayed care.
“I love my job, and I want to go back to doing my job. But I want to go back to doing it 110%, not broken, and for that to happen, I can’t be getting denied,” Halvorson said, per CBS News Texas. “I held up my promise, hold up yours.”
His case prompted more than two dozen first responders to share similar experiences. An investigation uncovered complaints of a slow, adversarial process.
Fort Worth firefighter Shonna Moorman, a 27-year veteran, was hurled into State Highway 114 when a truck slammed into her fire engine and then hit her during a rollover crash response on New Year’s Eve 2019.
“It launched me eight to 10 feet in the air, threw me into the middle of the highway,” she said, per CBS.
After 10 surgeries and nearly two months hospitalized, she fought repeated denials for knee replacement.
“I almost lost my leg multiple times,” she said. “It was three denial letters,” she said. “It took the doctor I’m seeing now three four-page letters to write everything in and document everything and hunt everything down. And he went to war for me. And finally, it was approved. It was a long battle. It was in that year I could barely walk.”
Fire Capt. Daniel Terrell sustained 13 or 14 skull and facial fractures, crushed cranial nerves, and broken ribs in a 2024 fire engine rollover.
“There’s a video of me getting drug out of the windshield, and we were arguing over whether I should be able to select a surgeon to operate on my eye,” he said, per CBS. “If you’re hurt or, especially if you have a cancer diagnosis, the only thing that you should ever think about is healing and getting healthy.”
Arlington firefighter Brady Weaver was shot in March 2024, the bullet grazing his heart and piercing his lung; it remains inside him. Honored by Gov. Greg Abbott at the 2024 Star of Texas Awards, he still faces denials and bills.
“In the back of the ambulance, my vision kind of started going in and out, and all I could think is, I can’t leave these kids at home. They need their dad,” Weaver said, per CBS.
“This is the first denial I received,” he said. “Workers’ comp won’t cover it, and my pocketbook only goes so far. We put our lives on the line, and they treat us like someone who stubbed their toe at work and is just trying to get a payout.”
Others described denials for therapy after a back break from an attic fall, being shuttled claim after claim while hurt searching for Kerrville campers, five months of agony awaiting back surgery in Bedford, and a nightmare after being thrown under a cruiser in Hutchins.
Cities file claims with insurance carriers for injured employees; denials can be appealed via the Texas Department of Insurance’s Division of Workers’ Compensation. State data logs over 507,000 claims since 2021, with 82,000 initial denials (16%).
In North Texas, Fort Worth reported 8,938 claims and 722 denials; Dallas 9,485 and 773; Plano 2,628 and zero; Frisco 1,303 and 115; Saginaw 91 and zero; Flower Mound 492 and 35; Arlington 2,721 and 202. Figures cover all city workers.
Texas State Association of Fire Fighters communications director Erin Powers noted denial rates for first responders dropped from 90% a decade ago to about 40% now.
“There has been progress,” Powers said.
Fort Worth Professional Firefighters Association President Zac Shaffer blamed policy.
“Insurance is designed to deny. This is where the city deserves blame,” he said, adding that carriers act aggressively. “It comes down to cities and money.”
“We are lumped in with all employees,” he said. “But when you’re talking about return-to-work programs or duty modifications, that doesn’t apply as well to first responders.”
“We need more choices for doctors,” Shaffer said. “The time you spend waiting for approval shouldn’t count against the two years first responders are given.”
Texas State Association of Fire Fighters District Vice President Beau Simpson called it a massive problem, fielding five calls daily from 20,000 represented firefighters.
“The biggest thing is we’re in the same workers’ comp system as everyone else in Texas,” he said. CS reported. “Some in the general workforce may want to play the game. We just want to go back to work.”
“They (cities and carriers) want to spend the least amount of money and get someone back to work. We are different.”
“If they did what they needed to do sooner, I would have been back at work sooner… and for less money,” he said. “That’s the biggest issue we have.”
“The bigger carrier, Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool, they are the devil to us when it comes to workers’ comp,” he said. “They don’t care.”
State Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco) said cities hold authority despite blaming carriers.
“The city council members and the mayors of these cities and the county commissioners… they are the ones that are sending these folks into harm’s way,” he said, per CBS. “They’re sending them into harm’s way, and then if they get injured in the line of duty, you’re on your own.”
He has sought reforms since 2019, citing cities’ cost concerns.
Fort Worth council member Charlie Lauersdorf urged trust: “You hear, ‘What about fraud? What about this?'” Lauersdorf said, per CBS. “Let’s trust our first responders to do the right thing.”
“They want to get back to work. Caleb Halvorson wants to get back to work. He doesn’t want to be in this position. No one wants to sit behind a desk.”
“Let’s get them healthy, get them back to work, approve it as it comes through, and worry about everything else on the back side.”
He pushed for Halvorson’s care and a system review.
Fort Worth plans new HR roles in fiscal 2026 to aid claims navigation, escalation, and return-to-work.
“The city follows the law and all federal and state regulatory guidelines related to injured/ill workers. Any considerations to change current practices will follow an appropriate review and evaluation process,” the city said.
It holds the claims administrator, Sedgwick, accountable; Sedgwick said it has met with the city but has no update.
The Division of Workers’ Compensation oversees compliance and disputes, with first responders getting priority and single points of contact.
“Insurance carriers are responsible for handling claim decisions such as accepting, paying, or denying workers’ compensation claims. Injured employees have the right to dispute an insurance carrier’s claim decision,” it said.
Resources include a hotline and materials in English and Spanish.
“I still have a bullet in me,” Weaver said. “I have kids. I need to be able to give them everything… and if I’m not having the care that I need, how does that affect them in the long run?”
