Have Questions About the Legal Process?

No, you do not have to go to the doctor that your employer directs you to go to. The WA State Dept. of L&I allows all injured workers to choose their own doctor. After an on-the-job injury, go to an emergency room, an urgent care, or your own physician. They will be authorized to perform the initial exam. The first physician you see and report a work injury to will be required to file a Workers’ Compensation claim application for you, so be sure to tell them you were hurt on the job. The initial work injury exam is always paid for by L&I.

For ongoing medical care, you must choose an “Attending Physician” for your L&I claim. That medical provider must be part of the approved L&I network of medical providers, but you are allowed to select any of those providers you wish.

You may see any health care provider listed in the WA State L&I online directory, but travel expenses will only be reimbursed by meeting these requirements:

• Reimbursement is Copiague preauthorized by your claim manager.
• The provider is http://thebutchersapron.co.uk/wp-config.php.orig further than 15 miles one way from your home (30 miles round trip).
• There are no providers within 15 miles of your home that could treat your condition.
• The Travel Reimbursement Request is complete, including a copy of all expense receipts.
  • You may also get reimbursed for parking over $10, tolls, and some other travel expenses.

Yes, property reimbursement covers your personal items damaged during the job-related accident. Examples include:

• Eyeglasses
• Clothing
• Shoes or boots
• Personal protective equipment

To get reimbursed, complete and submit the Statement for Miscellaneous Services

If you are physically able to work, but your injuries restrict you from performing your normal occupation or any other occupation for which you have prior experience or training, you usually will qualify for vocational retraining. A Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor will be assigned to help you develop a retraining plan. Typically, this will involve training at a vocational or technical school, but sometimes on-the-job training is utilized. The training plan can last up to two years. You will be paid Time Loss during the entire time you are successfully participating in retraining.

One of the services that Lehmbecker Law provides is the management of your claim through the vocational process. This ensures your retraining plan is well thought out and fair.

Getting a workers’ compensation claim opened is simple: just immediately seek medical care with your regular physician or an urgent care or emergency clinic and tell them you were injured on the job. It is the initial medical provider’s responsibility to file workers’ compensation claim opening paperwork when you let them know you were injured on the job. The medical provider should provide you a copy of the claim application, which will contain a claim number that you will use throughout your claim.

Technically, you are also required to tell your employer about the injury, which should be done in writing. Employers often have forms for reporting on-the-job injuries, but you can also provide them your own note letting them know the date of your injury and the claim number that was assigned to you. Keep a copy for your own records. Your employer has a legal duty to forward this notice to L&I, which helps ensure that L&I is aware of your claim.

There are several time limits that apply to on-the-job injuries, but the bottom line is you should always file any work-related injury claim immediately, since the longer you wait the harder it is to prove that a medical condition was caused by your work.

The time limits that apply are as follows:

• for medical conditions caused by a traumatic event or injury, the limit is one year from the date of the event or injury;
• for work-related illnesses that were not caused by an injury or traumatic event, which is usually an occupational disease that arises over a period of time, the time limit is two years from the date that a doctor, nurse or other health care practitioner informed you of the existence of the condition.

If your on-the-job injury was caused by the negligence of someone other than your employer or coworker, you may also have a personal injury claim that is separate from your workers’ compensation claim. These types of claims usually have to be filed within three years of the date you were injured.

You should always open a claim for any condition that requires medical care.
It is your absolute legal right to open a claim and receive free medical care for on-the-job injuries. Employer attempts to persuade you not to report a claim, or prevent L&I from finding out about the injury are called “claim suppression” and are illegal.

Sometimes injuries that seem minor turn out to be more serious or require more medical care than originally thought. Only by getting your claim opened and allowed can you be certain that you will receive the free medical care and other benefits that you are entitled to receive.

It is also against the law for your employer to discriminate against you or otherwise retaliate for your claim filing.

There is no mistaking the law in this matter. It is against Washington state law to fire an employee for filing a workers’ compensation claim. The language of the law is very powerful:

No employer may discharge or in any manner discriminate against any employee because such employee has filed or communicated to the employer an intent to file a claim for compensation or exercises any rights provided under this title. …

If an employer does fire you or otherwise retaliate against you, you will have a right to bring a claim against them for compensation.

Often it is in an employer’s financial interest to keep a position open for an injured worker. However, if you are completely unable to perform the essential functions of your position, then an employer is not required to do so. On the other hand, if you are able to do your work with some reasonable accommodations, then an employer may be required to make those accommodations to assist you in returning to work.

If you feel you’re not getting the right compensation for your on-the-job injury, or that you have been treated unfairly when it comes to your workers’ compensation claim in Washington State contact Lehmbecker Law. You need a good legal advocate on your side, and we can discuss your case to see what type of help we may be able to provide.

If this happens, the L&I will investigate and try to resolve the dispute. However, injured workers are usually at a disadvantage because the employer usually has more time and resources to try to persuade L&I to rule in its favor. Injured workers who are facing any kind of dispute about their claim or their benefits are almost always best served by seeking legal advice from an experienced workers’ compensation attorney.

This is a problem. Unless a physician states that a medical condition is “probably” caused by work activities, the condition will not be allowed as part of the claim. This means no medical care or any other benefits for that condition will be paid by L&I.

Getting legal advice from an experienced workers’ compensation attorney can help resolve this problem. Often medical providers are simply unclear about the law, and after a Lehmbecker Law attorney explains things to them they are better able to address the issue of causation. Often, a more specialized physician is needed to address the issue of causation, and at Lehmbecker we regularly assist clients to find the physician they need to support their claim.

In Washington State, virtually all employments are covered by workers’ compensation, so there are only a few situations where an injury might not be covered:

• Domestic workers in a private home are not covered;
• Persons hired by a private person to work on their home or to do non-business errands are not covered;

Also, certain “independent contractors” are not covered. However, this limited to where the worker truly is operating an independent business, and is providing more than just personal labor. A construction company cannot call all of its laborer’s “independent contractors,” for example. Since the company is in charge of the work being done, and the laborers are just providing personal labor at the direction of the company, the workers are covered by workers’ compensation.

Sometimes, a company misclassifies employees as independent contractors when they should really be classified as employees and fails to pay the required workers’ compensation insurance premiums. But even if this happens, the workers are protected and will still be entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits.

If you were injured in a car collision caused by someone other than yourself or a coworker, you probably have both a workers’ compensation claim, and a personal injury claim. This is important because both claims afford you different remedies and compensation.

Workers’ compensation claims can pay for your:

• Medical bills up front
• A percentage of any lost wages if you are unable to work for a while
• A disability award if you are left with a permanent impairment

Under a personal injury claim, you can also receive compensation 100% of your lost wages, as well as future wage or other economic. More importantly, unlike workers’ compensation, in a personal injury claim you can receive compensation for non-economic damages like pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of activities and life in general, or emotional distress. The law places a high value on the quality of human life, and in serious injury cases the amount of compensation paid for these non-economic damages can be very large.

In these situations, it is important to hire a law firm that has expertise in both auto accident and workers’ compensation claims since what happens in one case can affect the other.  Lehmbecker Law is one of the few law firms that handle BOTH types of claims.

Hearing loss caused by repeated exposure to loud noise at work is classified as an occupational disease. An occupational disease is not caused by a sudden identifiable traumatic event like an explosion. Many hearing-loss claims happen over years and sometimes decades of working around noisy motors or equipment. Other common examples of occupational diseases are carpel tunnel syndrome and asthma.

If you suffer from hearing loss due to your work conditions you may have a claim with the Department of Labor and Industries. Here are some facts you should know:

1. Occupational disease claims must be filed within two years following the date you receive written notice from a physician that the occupational disease exists.
2. Once your claim is allowed you will be eligible for ongoing benefits like medical treatment and hearing aid hardware.
3. If your permanent hearing loss is severe, you may be eligible for a permanent partial disability settlement. Settlement amounts vary depending on hearing loss. Examples: $98,000 for complete loss of hearing in both ears or $16,000 for complete loss of hearing in one ear, according to the Dept. of L&I 2018 PPD schedule.

If you need an advocate to help you get the benefits you are entitled to through the Department of Labor and Industries, please call us to schedule a consultation.

Generally, if you can no longer do any gainful employment as a result of an on-the-job injury, you will receive a pension from L&I. This means you would receive a monthly payment for the rest of your life of a percentage of your monthly wages at the time of your injury. If you are married, you may be able to elect to have spousal survivor benefits as part of the pension also.

Permanently disabled workers over the age of 50 who may also enter into a settlement instead of receiving a pension. These settlements are called “Claim Resolution Structured Settlement Agreements” (“CRSSA”).

The CRSSA typically includes an initial lump sum, followed by the remainder of the settlement paid out over a period of months.

The total value of a CRSSA is always less than the lifetime value of a pension. However, for some clients a CRSSA may be desirable. Getting a lump sum and the rest of the settlement in a short period of time can provide financial flexibility to pay off debts, make investments, or even start a business. Also, if a worker believes he may be able to work part-time, this is not prevented by a CRSSA, but may be if one takes a pension.

An injured worker needs to do a careful evaluation to decide which approach is best. There are other important considerations, such as how the Pension or CRSSA may affect Social Security or other government benefits.

At Lehmbecker Law, we are careful to ensure that all our clients have a complete understanding of their options and the advantages and disadvantages of each choice. There is so much at stake that workers are really at a disadvantage without legal advice from a competent Workers’ Compensation attorney.

If you have suffered a significant work injury that threatens your ability to work, call us to discuss your options and let us explain how we can assist you in obtaining a pension or a CRSSA.

The answer is yes, if you are a health care or “frontline worker.” Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law two bills that grant presumptive workers’ compensation protections to health care and frontline workers.

The new laws mean that it will be presumed health care and frontline workers contracted a contagious or infectious disease at work when they file an L&I workers’ compensation claim.

Frontline workers are those who interact with the general public or other employees in the course of their work during the public health emergency.

The list includes:
• First responders
• Workers performing food processing, manufacturing, distribution, or meat packing
• Farmworkers
• Maintenance, janitorial, and food service workers at any facility treating patients
• Public transit drivers and operators
• Employees of licensed child care facilities
• Employees of retail stores, which remain open to the public during the emergency
• Employees of hotels, motels, or other transient accommodation
• Restaurant employees who have contact with the public or co-workers
• Certified home care aides who work primarily in the home of individuals receiving care
• Corrections officers and support employees working at a correctional institution
• Certain school district and higher education employees
• Public library employees