Has L&I lost its way? As an agency, I think that L&I might have forgotten its purpose. What is L&I and what are its duties? The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) is the agency responsible for administering the Industrial Insurance Act in Washington State. This Act, also known as RCW 51, was created […]
When an employer prevents or tries to prevent an injured worker from filing a claim, it is called L&I claim suppression or workers’ compensation claim suppression. It occurs more often that you might expect. Despite the prevalence, I don’t think accusations of L&I claim suppression are taken as seriously as they should be. Rules […]
This week has been very busy. Among many other things, I deposed several attending providers and attended litigation matters at the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals (BIIA). Every time I depose a medical provider, it reminds me of the supreme importance of the attending provider in L&I workers’ compensation claims. The opinion of the […]
On October 22, the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) adopted rule changes relating to vocational services. The new rules will go into effect on January 1, 2020. The new rule language can be found on the L&I website. Priority of returning injured workers to work Many of the changes are not substantial. However, […]
For the past six months, the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) investigated the fatal crane collapse that happened in Seattle last April. Today, L&I announced it issued citations and fines to three companies for safety violations that relate to the fatal collapse and loss of life. The L&I investigation L&I found that nearly […]
Last week I was in a coworker’s office. We were discussing a document and I moved forward to look at the computer screen. I noticed an open file drawer and stepped around it. However, after looking at the document I forgot all about the open drawer. I turned around and walked right into the drawer. […]
October 1, 2019 marked my one-year anniversary at Reck Law, PLLC – Workers’ Compensation Attorneys. As I reflect on the year, I’m encouraged by the progress we’ve made. We’ve forged new relationships with existing Casey & Casey, P.S. clients after taking over their workers’ comp law firm. We also continued taking responsibility for the great […]
It’s pretty common for people with workplace injury and an ongoing workers’ compensation claim to ask me about privacy rights. Especially when it comes to health information. Privacy of sensitive healthcare data such as medical history and treatment is important. How does L&I or self-insured employers get my health records? I usually tell people […]
Did you know that L&I has an “Ergonomics Ideas Bank”? Neither did I until today! L&I issued a bulletin that the bank will be down in November as L&I makes improvements to the bank. What is the L&I ergonomics ideas bank? Naturally, I had to see what this bank was all about. The bank […]
When people have L&I claims and cannot return to work without retraining, they will likely go through a retraining program. There are a variety of different options for retraining. These options include college programs, vocational or technical schools, online programs and even on the job training. On-the-job retraining programs Many of the people I […]