Category: Washington Workers’ Compensation
Washington L&I Self-Insurance Reminders About Employer Claim Closures
Happy 2025 from SBH Legal! Let’s start the year off with a refresh on self-insured employer closures in Washington. Self-insured employers have the authority to…
Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries Announces Mystery Listening Sessions
Listening sessions scheduled by the Department of Labor & Industries are nothing new. It is common practice for the Department to ask for feedback from…
Navigating claim compensability for injuries outside the State of Washington
Under the Industrial Insurance Act, workers for Washington employers are entitled to benefits for injuries sustained in the course of employment. Under Washington’s extraterritorial statute,…
Washington L&I Expands Coverage for Acupuncture Treatment
The Washington Department of Labor & Industries recently adopted a new policy approving acupuncture as a covered treatment for chronic migraine when accepted under a…
What constitutes a valid light duty job offer in Washington?
If an injured worker is not able to perform their job of injury, but is able to perform some type of work, offering a light…
In Washington, willful or not, misrepresentation puts you on the spot
Everyone can agree, when you take something that you are not entitled to, there are consequences that follow. In Washington worker’s compensation claims it is…
Washington Proposed Rule-Making for Third Party Recording: Additional Red Tape in an Already Onerous System?
Since the implementation of new rules allowing claimants to record examinations requested by the Department or Self-Insurer in 2023 employers have encountered increased difficulty in…
Washington Court of Appeals: New Insight on Notice and the Authority of DLI Policies
In the State of Washington, employers are required to give notice of a mandatory IME at least 14 to 60 days prior to the examination,…
Washington State Approves Spinal Cord Stimulation for Certain Pain Conditions
On June 14, 2024, there was a final adoption of new guidelines for spinal cord stimulation (SCS). Spinal cord stimulation is a treatment for chronic…
Washington Legislature Potentially Provides Extended Benefits to Claimants on Reopen Applications
The Washington Industrial Insurance Act allows claimants to reopen their claims following closure when the conditions proximately related to their industrial injury or occupational disease…
Normally Reasonable: Transferring Attending Providers in Washington Workers’ Compensation Claim
Claimant’s attending physician plays an important role in assisting claimant’s return to their job of injury. Their attentiveness and skill as a provider often dictate…
How to Collect an Overpayment in Washington
It is not uncommon for an overpayment of benefits to occur during the administration a workers’ compensation claim. An overpayment may arise due to clerical…
Washington Significant Vocational Board Decisions
Two significant decisions regarding the vocational process were recently determined by the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals. In re Michael Killpatrick BIIA Dec., 21 13384…
Guidance on a Washington Workers’ Compensation Occupational Disease in a Post-COVID (Presumption) Era
The Washington Department of Labor & Industries lifted its COVID coverage presumption on April 11, 2023. Under the presumption, frontline workers who tested positive for…
New Washington case provides limitations to Maphet
For self-insured employers in Washington, one of the most significant decisions in recent years was the Washington Court of Appeals’ 2019 opinion in Clark County…
Substitute House Bill Passed to Address Surgical Smoke Hazards in Washington
Governor Jay Inslee signed into law Substitute House Bill (SHB) 1779 to address surgical smoke hazards in hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers in hopes to…
When can a Washington self-insured employer issue a closing order?
Generally, when a Washington workers’ compensation claim is ready for closure, a self-insured employer will submit a request for claim closure to the Department and…
Have you or someone you know been negatively affected by the new Washington IME rules? Get help here!
The new Washington Independent Medical Exam (IME) recording and co-recording rules have made obtaining an IME even more difficult than when they were limited by…
All Washington Self-Insured Employers Should Be Aware of (And Attend if Possible) the Department of Labor & Industries “Listening Sessions” Regarding the Newly Enacted “Bad Faith” Laws
The Washington legislature passed one of two pieces of legislation that creates new duties and standards for some self-insured employers. Substitute House Bill 1521 is…
Limitations for self-insured employers in Washington recouping overpayment benefits
During the administration of a workers’ compensation claim, it is common for the self-insured employer or the Department of Labor and Industries to pay the…
Washington L&I may add nurses to PTSD presumption
On September 7, 2023, the Department of Labor and Industries issues a notice of proposed rulemaking seeking adding a new section to WAC 296-14-300 adding…
What Decision? Washington requirements on Communication and Mailing.
RCW 51.52.060 sets forth the Department’s rules regarding the timeline to appeal a decision. It explains that any party (with the exception of certain enumerated…
New Notice Requirement for Independent Medical Examinations in Washington Effective July 23, 2023.
Substitute House Bill (SHB) 1068 was adopted into law by the legislature effective July 23, 2023. This legislation amends RCW 51.36.070, giving workers the right…
New PTSD Presumption for Registered Nurses in Washington
On May 9, 2023, Governor Jay Inslee signed SB 5454 into law further expanding the number of presumptions under the Washington Industrial Insurance Act. SB…
Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries Announces Changes to Covid-19 Presumption and IME Rules
As the saying goes, change is constant. Never, it seems, has this saying been more applicable to Washington workers’ compensation laws and claims administration. The…
