If you are injured on the job, you may be protected against either wrongful termination or discriminatory practices by your employer. Washington State is an “at will” state, which means in simple terms that an employer can terminate you for any reason, and you can quit for any reason. However, there are still legal protections for workers who are injured […]
Read MoreThe rate at which time loss benefits are calculated is affected by the number of “children” the worker had at the time of injury. By statute, an injured worker is entitled to an increase in their timeless benefit of 2% of their wages at the time of injury, for any child dependent they had at the time of the industrial […]
Read MoreIn Washington State, RCW 51.32.220 allows for the offset of two types of monetary benefits if an individual receives payments for Social Security Disability. Those two state benefits are temporary total disability and permanent total disability, colloquially known as time loss and pension. Notice that the statute does not permit the state to reduce awards for permanent partial disability, colloquially […]
Read MoreDid you know if you are injured on the job such that you cannot shop or feed yourself, whether due to paralysis or other injury, you will not get help from the Department of Labor and Industries without fighting in court? During a recent pro-bono case it was learned that the Department refused to provide basic average daily living services […]
Read MoreAn area of contention that frequently arises between an injured worker and the Department of Labor and industries, or a self-insured employer, has to do with how their time loss benefits are calculated. A statute declares that time loss is to be based upon the worker’s wages or earnings at the time of their industrial injury. Another statute, in defining […]
Read MoreSo the Department of Labor and Industries (Department) has issued an order that is unfavorable to you and you disagree with that decision. What happens next? Whether you are represented or not, it is helpful to understand the process. Whether your employer at the time of your injury was self-insured, or not, it is the Department which is charged with […]
Read MoreSo you just received an order closing your claim. The question you may now have is what rights do you have under your claim in the future? Video: Reopening A Workers Comp Claim http://schwab-directories.wistia.com/medias/3xy3o7hxtv?embedType=seo&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=680 The General “7-year” Rule The general rule for worker’s compensation cases is that you have seven years from the date of the first, final order closing […]
Read MoreIf you’ve suffered an on-the-job injury and not able to return to any work you’ve done in the last 15 years, you may be entitled to vocational rehabilitation benefits. If you are determined to be in need of vocational retraining, a vocational counselor will be assigned to you to assist you in choosing a retraining plan. Once a plan is […]
Read MoreIn the State of Washington, if you are injured on the job or in the course of employment by someone who is not an employee or officer of the company for which you work, or, if similarly injured at work or in the course of employment, but by machinery, chemicals, or some other process not specifically developed or designed by your employer, you […]
Read MoreFor injured workers, the rules have changed in who can provide treatment. In the past, an injured worker could choose any doctor. Whether the worker was compensated for their travel expense was sometimes an issue for workers but so long as the medical provider (doctor, PAC, ARNP, psychologist, for example) had a provider number from the Department of Labor and […]
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