-Todd Nelson is a former Cal Fire captain who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

He attempted to commit suicide after suffering trauma from almost three decades of fighting wildfires and responding to other emergencies.

-I was going dark.

Dark was a word I'd never heard of suicide ideations Thoughts continually.

That's a daily occurrence for me now.

-Even when suicidal, California's firefighters struggled to find medical help and navigate the workers' comp labyrinth to pay for it.

A 2021 analysis showed their claims were most likely to involve PTSD and were denied more often.

From 2008 to 2019 in California, workers' comp officials denied PTSD claims filed by firefighters and other first responders at more than twice the rate of their other work-related conditions, such as back injuries and pneumonia, according to a RAND Corporation report.

Nelson's therapist, Jennifer Alexander, said patients in acute crisis don't have the emotional energy to resolve stubborn workers' comp claims, and she has waited years, in some cases, to get paid for treating first responders.

For decades, the California legislature has wrestled with how to fix workers' comp.

In one year alone, lawmakers proposed nearly two dozen bills.

In 2020, they added a legal shortcut to the Labor Code stipulating that first responders are considered at high risk for PTSD in the course of doing their job.

That means first responders no longer carry the burden of proving their illness is work-related.

Claims adjuster can still question the diagnosis or assert that the trauma was caused by other factors.

Now retired, Nelson, who lives in Nevada City, has been fighting for workers' compensation payments for almost three years since his suicide attempt.

He and his wife have already spent more than $10,000 out of pocket for medical care and could face thousands more in legal bills.

-Some days are worse than others I'm sure that goes from many others.

I can only speak on my journey, but yes.

-For CalMatters, I'm Julie Cart.