L&I Claims – Important Terms

Industrial Injury Claim & Occupational Disease Claim

Many people do not realize that there are two kinds of workers’ compensation claims in Washington State: An industrial injury claim and an occupational disease claim. Occupational disease, which we sometimes call workplace illness, develop over tim… Read More

Self-Insured Employer Claim versus State-Funded L&I Claim

Many people ask if our law firm handles work injury claims for self-insured employers. The answer is YES! Self-Insured Employer Claim vs L&I Claim There are 2 types of work injury claims in Washington State. The first type is an L&I claim. Th… Read More

Attending Physician or Attending Provider

Role of Attending Physician in Your L&I Claim or Workers’ Comp Claim Work injury claimants must designate an attending provider or attending physician (AP) on their L&I claim or workers’ compensation claim. In simple terms, the attending… Read More

L&I Medical Provider Network or MPN

The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) manages the medical provider network (or MPN in short). The purpose of the network is to ensure quality of care in L&I claim and self-insured employer claim matters. After all, L&I wants work i… Read More

Independent Medical Exams and IME Exams

Are you dealing with an Independent Medical Exam (IME) in your L&I claim? Did the examiner provide a high-quality, unbiased, accurate, and medically sound report? Did your attending physician review the IME report? Here are some tips and things y… Read More

L&I Time-Loss Compensation and Temporary Total Disability

Are you familiar with the temporary total disability benefit in L&I claims in Washington State? Did you know that you can receive time-loss compensation while your workers’ compensation claim is open? Time-loss Compensation in an L&I Claim… Read More

Activity Prescription Form or APF Form

The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) provides time-loss compensation (TLC) and loss of earning power (LEP) benefits. These benefits are available to work injury claimants during the open and active phase of an L&I claim in Washington… Read More

L&I Loss of Earning Power (LEP) Benefits

Are you familiar with the Loss of Earning Power benefits under your L&I claim? After a work injury or occupational disease in Washington State, some work injury claimants can return to work with lower earning capacity. Then, if that’s the case,… Read More

Physical Capacity Evaluation (PCE) and Functional Capacity Evaluation

The open and active phase of an L&I claim or self-insured employer claim is when the work injury claimant receives medical treatment. In legal terms, we refer to this phase as when the worker is actively receiving necessary and proper treatment f… Read More

Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) and Medical Fixity

After a work injury in Washington State, the first step is for the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) to allow your claim. Then, your workers’ compensation claim enters the open and active phase. During this phase, you receive treatment f… Read More

Retraining, Vocational Counselors and Vocational Services

If you have a workers’ compensation claim or L&I claim in Washington State, you might receive vocational services. These services and benefits fall under the Industrial Insurance Act. However, they are complex because they are discretionary. Th… Read More

Vocational Dispute Resolution or VRDO

We discussed the role of the vocational counselor in your L&I claim in other articles. Here, we’re going to go over disputes during the vocational and retraining process. More precisely, we’ll go over Vocational Dispute Resolution (VDRO). Voc… Read More

Option 1 versus Option 2 in Vocational Retraining

This article is part of our series about vocational benefits in workers’ compensation and L&I claims. The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) approves a vocational retraining plan once the Plan Development phase is complete. Then, the… Read More

PPD - Permanent Partial Disability Award

L&I Claim Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) in Washington State After a work injury or occupational disease in Washington State, you can file for a workers’ compensation claim. The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) oversees all work… Read More

L&I Claim Appeal - Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals (BIIA)

Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals (BIIA) in Washington State Work injury claimants often ask me about the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals. We usually call it the “Board” or the “BIIA”. Mostly, people are curious to know the role of… Read More

L&I Settlement - How to Get Paid for My Claim

People call our office very often. Many ask if they can settle their L&I claim. Also, some of them have self-insured employer claims. In fact, what most of them ask is: “How can I get paid in exchange to my claim?”. The entire topic of claim… Read More

L&I Pension and Pensions with Self-Insured Employers

A Guide to L&I Pension L&I pension is a lifetime benefit. The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) pays pensions to people who can never work again. In short, an L&I pension is a type of L&I claim settlement. It’s like getti… Read More