What constitutes an appealable decision in Washington?
Each year the Washington Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals designates a few select decisions as “significant.” A significant decision is generally one the Board deems to have precedential importance.
The Board has not yet identified its 2025 significant decisions. However, In re Marc Denbo, Dckt. No. 25 13319 (November 25, 2025), was recently designated as a “tentatively significant” decision, meaning it will likely be formally classified as a significant decision in the near future.
In re Marc Denbo involves an allowed claim. Below is a brief timeline of relevant events.
- June 3, 2024: The Department issued an order accepting responsibility for the conditions of PTSD and major depressive disorder. The employer protested.
- November 15, 2024: The Department issued a letter stating the conditions of PTSD and major depressive disorder were going to be denied under separate cover.
- November 15, 2024: The Department issued an order denying major depressive disorder. The order did not address PTSD.
- November 15, 2024: Claimant file an appeal asking for the conditions of PTSD and major depressive disorder to be accepted.
- The Board assigned separate docket numbers to an appeal of the November 15, 2024 order and an appeal of the November 15, 2024 letter.
- November 18, 2024: The Department issued an order denying PTSD.
- March 4, 2025: The Department affirmed the November 18, 2024 order. Claimant protested this order, and the protest was forwarded to the Board as an appeal.
At the Board, in connection with claimant’s appeal of the November 15, 2024 letter, the Department and the employer argued that a Department letter is not appealable. They argued that only a formal order containing statutory appeal language may be appealed. The Board rejected that position and concluded that any action or decision by the Department is appealable. The statutory appeal language, the Board explained, is mandatory only for a decision to become final and binding, not for it to be subject to appeal.
Here, the November 15, 2024 letter stated that the conditions of PTSD and major depressive disorder would be denied under separate cover. Although the Department issued an order that same day, it addressed only major depressive disorder and did not reference PTSD. At the time the appeals were filed, the November 15, 2024 letter was the only document addressing PTSD.
Claimant filed an appeal and requested acceptance of both PTSD and major depressive disorder. The Board found his appeal clearly expressed disagreement with both the letter and the order. Because the letter contained a substantive decision regarding PTSD, the Board determined that the appeal of the letter was valid.
Additionally, the Board determined that because the November 15, 2024 letter was appealable and appealed before the Department issued its November 18, 2024 order denying PTSD, the Department lacked jurisdiction to issue the latter order. The Department does not have authority to adjudicate an issue on appeal. When a decision is on appeal, the Department’s only options are to modify, reverse, change or hold the decision in abeyance within 60 days of its order. It cannot issue a further order that merely reiterates the decision on appeal.
Accordingly, the Board concluded the November 18, 2024 order and the March 4, 2025 affirming order were null. The Board reversed and remanded the March 4, 2025 order to the Department with instructions to cancel the November 18, 2024 order. The issues of PTSD and major depressive disorder were addressed under the appeals of the November 15, 2024 order and letter.
If you have any questions about how this decision may affect a claim, please do not hesitate to contact me at or (503) 595-6114.
Posted by Elizabeth Aaberg.
