Active in litigation and representation of clients regarding Social Security disability and workers compensation claims since starting to practice law in the summer of 1986. I have handled cases involving injuries to the back, the neck, severe head injuries, shoulders, knees, hips, ankles and feet. I have represented clients regarding heart attacks that occurred at work, strokes that occurred at work. I have litigated and obtained coverage for my clients regarding major depressive disorder, aggravation of bipolar disorder, PTSD, adjustment disorders, anxiety disorders etc. I have litigated the allowance of occupational disease claims for hearing loss, carpal tunnel syndrome, and lung disease.
I have represented clients whose claims are being adjudicated by the Department of Labor and Industries, or by way of hearings presented to the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals, as well as, appeals to Superior Court, regional Courts of Appeals, and the Washington State Supreme Court. I have tried cases to juries and to Judges in multiple counties in the state of Washington, including, but not limited to, Grant County, Adams County, Lincoln County, Stevens County, Okanogan County, Chelan County, Douglas County, Spokane County, Walla Walla County, Columbia County, Garfield County, Franklin County, Benton County, Yakima County, Snohomish County, and King County.
My representation of a client at the Washington state Supreme Court led to a landmark decision regarding how time loss benefits are to be calculated when dealing with wages for farmworkers. The ruling made in my case have been followed, and cited as the law of the state, by other courts for decades.
I love languages. Having served a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in France and Switzerland, I am fluent in French. I have conversational abilities in Spanish. I also understand some German.
When not practicing law, my time is absorbed with hobbies that include fishing, golfing, and raising grandchildren.