Many people don’t realize that there are two kinds of workers’ compensation claims in Washington State, industrial injury claims and occupational disease claim. Today I participated in a deposition involving the issue of whether a claim should be allowed as an occupational disease. This case, like many occupational diseases claims I see, is plagued by a lack of understanding about occupational disease claims coupled with mis-information, so I’ve decided a post about occupational diseases is warranted.

If we go to trial regarding allowance of an occupational disease, the jury is instructed as to the meaning of occupational disease. The pattern jury... Continue to read the complete article.