Posts

Vocational Retraining by the Department of Labor & Industries

I often get phone calls from potential clients who are trying to understand what the Department of Labor and Industries, or the assigned vocational counselor, is doing when a plan for vocational retraining is being proposed. Their rights and responsibilities and their options, specifically a right to “opt out” of vocational services is truly a pressured and confusing moment in […]

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Workers’ Compensation Benefits for Post-Injury Disabilities: A Case Study

If you are disabled by many causes, or disabled from working due to causes not related to your work injury, such as cancer, an illness, or an injury when not working, you may still be entitled to Full Worker’s Compensation Disability Benefits. Recently, our firm represented a man who was hurt at work, and suffered many limitations because of his […]

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Were You Hurt Prior to your Workers’ Compensation Injury?

If you were hurt prior to your industrial injury (another name for a Worker’s Compensation Injury), the Department of Labor and Industries must take that into consideration when deciding if you are disabled. The State of Washington has strong rights, and strong legislation that protects the disabled. Sometimes the Department of Labor and Industries may neglect to follow those rights. […]

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Take Time To Listen and Observe

I had an interesting situation yesterday.  I had 2 men come in to meet with an attorney for a scheduled appointment.  I assumed the appointment was for the man who was visibly limping into the office appearing to be suffering from obvious leg pain.  Upon their departure, I was asked to schedule another appointment for him the following week.  I […]

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Post-Termination Injuries and Workers’ Compensation Claims

Washington State law states that an injury that happens while the person is acting in the course of employment is a covered injury and it is not necessary that the worker is performing their assigned work task. But what happens if a worker is fired and, in the process of departing, sustains an injury post-termination? Is the worker still covered […]

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How to Reopen a Workers’ Compensation Claim in Washington

The question of how to reopen your Labor and Industries workers’ compensation claim is an important one for many people. Not everyone needs to have their claim reopened, but for those that do, there are some important things to remember.   Why would someone reopen a workers’ comp claim? If you were injured on the job, had a workers’ compensation […]

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Stay at work legislation

New legislation will affect return-to-work procedures following an industrial injury or occupational disease. Once an industrial insurance claim is allowed, the State of Washington will now provide an incentive to employers to return the worker to work as quickly as possible to a light duty or transitional job. The State can reimburse employers up to 50% of the wages paid […]

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Senate OKs Lump-sum Workers Comp Buyouts

The Washington State Senate passed landmark state workers compensation reform legislation on March 5, 2011.  It was embodied in SB 5566. The Senate-approved measure would drastically change Washington State’s workers’ compensation system by establishing an option for lump-sum settlements for claimants who are looking at long-term disability (pension benefits).  Under the Senate version of the SB 5566, any worker who […]

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