Washington Workers’ Compensation
Department of Labor & Industries Issues New Checklist for Willful Misrepresentation
The Department of Labor & Industries recently amended the process and published an amended checklist for employers seeking Willful Misrepresentation orders. The Department’s new checklist for reporting Willful Misrepresentation available here. Pursuant to RCW 51.32.240(5), self-insured employers can demand repayment of any benefits induced by willful misrepresentation along with a 50% penalty payable to the Department’s supplemental pension fund so long as the repayment and recoupment of benefits is demanded within three years of the discovery of the worker’s willful misrepresentation. The statute goes on to explain that “willful misrepresentation” includes willful false statements, omissions, or concealment of any material fact. Additionally, Washington Administrative Code 296-14-4121 provides that the term “willful” means a “conscious or deliberate false statement, misrepresentation, omission,… Continue reading New Washington Law: First Responder Presumption
On June 7, 2018 the First Responder Presumption, House Bill SB 6214 became law and changed the way workers and employers approach mental health claims filed by firefighters and law enforcement officers throughout the state of Washington. Before the First Responder Presumption, all workers, including first responders, were typically prevented from filing a claim for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as an occupational disease. The new law changes this rule and carves out an exception for first responders. Now, when a firefighter or law enforcement officer files a claim for PTSD, it is presumed to be an occupational disease unless the employer proves otherwise. In other words, the new law shifts the burden of proof to the employer, who is now… Continue reading Court of Appeals Case Reaffirms Objective Evidence Required For Reopening
In Hendrickson v. Dep’t of Labor & Indus., the Washington Division One Court of Appeals reaffirmed what evidence must support a reopening application. Claimant injured her middle and lower back in October 2007. The Department closed her claim in May 2012 with a category 4 dorso-lumbar impairment award. Just prior to claim closure, claimant complained to Dr. Martin she was “having ongoing pain all over.” In September 2013, claimant filed a reopening application, which the Department denied in February 2014. Claimant appealed. At hearing, claimant’s medical expert, Dr. Martin, testified that claimant’s cervical and lumbar MRI scans taken prior to claim closure and those taken in 2014 “were essentially unchanged” and there were “no objective findings of worsening” in claimant’s… Continue reading