Historical Perspective of Washington State Workers Comp

Workers Comp was enacted by Washington State in 1911 to protect workers and employers. Workers Comp laws were enacted to provide workers who were injured “sure and certain relief”.  The law did not require the assignment of fault and the legal formalities were kept to a minimum to assure efficiency.  Employers were also given something.  Workers Comp protected employers from personal injury lawsuits and limits claims.  The Department of labor and Industries is the state agency designated to administer industrial insurance.  Companies can either self-insure or purchase coverage through the State.

The state of Maryland passed the first workers comp law in 1902 and between 1911 and 1915 thirty (30) states enacted workers comp law; however, Washington was the first state to make workers comp mandatory. The program has grown through the century but has stayed fundamentally the same. In 1937, the law began covering occupational diseases. In 1971, the Legislature expanded coverage to all classifications of employment in the state, not just the most hazardous. In 1972, self-insurance for workers comp was allowed for qualified individual businesses within Washington State.

Recent Changes to Washington’s Workers Comp System

In 2011, Washington State Legislature passed into law changes to Washington’s workers comp system effective January 1, 2013. The significant reforms are briefly summarized below:

1.  Medical Provider Network requires injured workers must obtain ongoing treatment from providers in the network except for the initial office or emergency-room visit. The network is managed by L&I and is open to all qualified providers who meet network requirements.
2. Stay at Work Program provides financial incentives to employers who work with their injured workers and find ways return them back to light-duty or transitional jobs that are safe for them. Eligible employers can be reimbursed for up to 50% of the injured worker’s base wage up to a maximum of $10,000 per claim. Employers may also be reimbursed up to $1,000 for training costs, 2,500 in tools and $400 in clothing per claim.
3. Structured Settlement provides an option to resolve disability benefits for a qualified workers’ compensation claim. A structured settlement is a written agreement between all parties where the worker is paid an amount of compensation through periodic payments. Workers who enter into a structured settlement can still receive medical treatment authorized under their claim.

Industrial Claim Statistics

Today, Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries is one of the largest and oldest providers of workers comp in the United States. The State Fund covers more than 151,000 employers and 1.7 million workers while the remaining of Washington workers are covered by approximately 400 large employers that self-insure. About 180,000 claims are filed with the department each year and an estimated 85% are accepted by the Department as valid.  If you have a claim contact a workers comp lawyer to make sure you are represented during this time.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Department of Labor, in 2011 there were over 109,000 thousand non-fatal claims and 58 reportable job-related deaths in the state of Washington as compared with the estimated 4 million injured workers and 4,609 fatalities in the United States. Of the 109,000 Washington state claims 37,500 resulted in workers taking days off from work, and of those, 17,000 cases required job transfer or restriction. The manufacturing and construction industries had the highest non-fatal incident rate. White, non-Hispanic male workers between the ages of 45 and 64 accounted for the vast majority of the job-related fatalities. Of the 58 deaths, 29 were related to transportation incidents, followed by contact with objects and equipment and trip, slip and fall accidents each having 9 reported cases.

If you have been injured in an accident at work or if you have an occupational illness, you deserve protection.  Call our office today to talk to a Workers Comp Lawyer.

Call 253-631-6484.  We don’t get paid unless you get paid.