What does it mean in Washington for the testimony of injured workers' attending physicians to be given "special consideration" in appeals, and is that a mandatory rule upon which juries in Superior Court appeals must be instructed?
Spring has sprung, cherry blossoms on the capitol campus have popped, allergies are in the air, and the Washington State Legislature, despite going into an overtime period to complete its work, has finally adjourned for the year this week. Here is our wrap-up of what went down, particularly in the areas of workers' compensation and workplace safety issues.
Recently, the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals has been rejecting proposed Claim Resolution Structured Settlement Agreements (CRSSA) that include language requiring objective findings of a worsening condition to support re-opening the claim.
On Friday afternoon, the Department of Labor & Industries released the interim report of the Benefit Accuracy Working Group, an employer-labor-department collaborative convened by the Legislature in 2015 to look for improvements in the accuracy, consistency, fairness, and simplicity of calculating time loss benefits in Washington.
The Washington Self-Insurers Association is excited to announce the launch of its new website this week, offering a totally refreshed online interface for members, policymakers, regulators, the media and the public to learn about WSIA and its mission as Washington's workers' compensation and workplace safety leader.
Yesterday, WSIA, joined by the Association of Washington Business, filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief in the Washington Supreme Court, supporting an appeal by the Department of Labor & Industries in a case dealing with the time frames for recovering an overpayment caused by a worker’s misrepresentation of facts.
Four years in the making, an important new performance audit of claims management in Washington’s workers’ compensation system has been released and was formally presented to a committee of the Washington State Legislature this week.
It is our goal at the WSIA to keep all of our members informed regarding the latest trends in safety and claims from Washington and our nation.
Perhaps the most newsworthy report is on the 25 most dangerous industries in Washington. The report covers a number of industries and points some unexpected trends like the increase in injuries related to workplace violence.
Other efforts to target the more dangerous injuries include projects such as the logger safety initiative.
Regarding the ...
