Title 51 — Title 51 INDUSTRIAL INSURANCE

Unless the context indicates otherwise, words used in this title shall have the meaning given in this chapter.[ 1961 c 23 s 51.08.010. Prior: 1939 c 41 s 2, part; 1929 c 132 s 1, part; 1927 c 310 s 2, part; 1921 c 182 s 2, part; 1919 c 131 s 2, part; 1917 c 120 s 1, part; 1911 c …

For the purposes of this title, "accredited school" means a school or course of instruction which is:(1) Approved by the state superintendent of public instruction, the state board of education, the *state board for community college education, or the state division of vocational…

(1) "Acting in the course of employment" means the worker acting at his or her employer's direction or in the furtherance of his or her employer's business which shall include time spent going to and from work on the jobsite, as defined in RCW 51.32.015 and 51.36.040, insofar as …

"Agriculture" means the business of growing or producing any agricultural or horticultural produce or crop, including the raising of any animal, bird, or insect, or the milk, eggs, wool, fur, meat, honey, or other substances obtained therefrom.[ 1971 ex.s. c 289 s 75.]Notes:Effec…

Wherever and whenever in any of the provisions of this title relating to any payments by an employer or worker the words "amount" and/or "amounts," "payment" and/or "payments," "premium" and/or "premiums," "contribution" and/or "contributions," and "assessment" and/or "assessment…

For purposes of this title, the average monthly wage in the state shall be the average annual wage as determined under RCW 50.04.355 as now or hereafter amended divided by twelve.[ 1977 ex.s. c 323 s 3; 1971 ex.s. c 289 s 15.]Notes:Severability—Effective date—1977 ex.s. c 323: Se…

"Beneficiary" means a husband, wife, child, or dependent of a worker in whom shall vest a right to receive payment under this title: PROVIDED, That a husband or wife of an injured worker, living separate and apart in a state of abandonment, regardless of the party responsible the…

"Child" means every natural born child, posthumous child, stepchild, child legally adopted prior to the injury, child born after the injury where conception occurred prior to the injury, and dependent child in the legal custody and control of the worker, all while under the age o…

"Department" means department of labor and industries.[ 1961 c 23 s 51.08.040.]Notes:Department of labor and industries: Chapter 43.22 RCW.

"Dependent" means any of the following named relatives of a worker whose death results from any injury and who leaves surviving no widow, widower, or child, viz: Father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, stepfather, stepmother, grandson, granddaughter, brother, sister, half-siste…

"Director" means the director of labor and industries.[ 1961 c 23 s 51.08.060.]

(1) "Employer" means any person, body of persons, corporate or otherwise, and the legal representatives of a deceased employer, all while engaged in this state in any work covered by the provisions of this title, by way of trade or business, or who contracts with one or more work…

"Health services provider" or "provider" means any person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, agency, institution, or other legal entity providing any kind of services related to the treatment of an industrially injured worker.[ 1986 c 200 s 12.]

"Injury" means a sudden and tangible happening, of a traumatic nature, producing an immediate or prompt result, and occurring from without, and such physical conditions as result therefrom.[ 1961 c 23 s 51.08.100. Prior: 1959 c 308 s 3; 1957 c 70 s 12; prior: 1939 c 41 s 2, part;…

"Invalid" means one who is physically or mentally incapacitated from earning.[ 1961 c 23 s 51.08.110. Prior: 1957 c 70 s 13; prior: 1939 c 41 s 2, part; 1929 c 132 s 1, part; 1927 c 310 s 2, part; 1921 c 182 s 2, part; 1919 c 131 s 2, part; 1917 c 120 s 1, part; 1911 c 74 s 3, pa…

"New medical issue" means a medical issue not covered by a previous medical examination requested by the department or the self-insurer such as an issue regarding medical causation, medical treatment, work restrictions, or evaluating permanent partial disability.[ 2020 c 213 s 1.…

"Occupational disease" means such disease or infection as arises naturally and proximately out of employment under the mandatory or elective adoption provisions of this title.[ 1961 c 23 s 51.08.140. Prior: 1959 c 308 s 4; 1957 c 70 s 16; prior: 1951 c 236 s 1; 1941 c 235 s 1, pa…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 2034-S2.SL) ***(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, the department shall adopt a rule pursuant to chapter 34.05 RCW that claims based on mental conditions or mental disabilities caused by stress do not fall within the defi…

"Permanent partial disability" means the loss of either one foot, one leg, one hand, one arm, one eye, one or more fingers, one or more toes, any dislocation where ligaments were severed where repair is not complete, or any other injury known in surgery to be permanent partial di…

"Permanent total disability" means loss of both legs, or arms, or one leg and one arm, total loss of eyesight, paralysis or other condition permanently incapacitating the worker from performing any work at any gainful occupation.[ 1977 ex.s. c 350 s 13; 1961 c 23 s 51.08.160. Pri…

"Posttraumatic stress disorder" means a disorder that meets the diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress specified by the American psychiatric association in the diagnostic and statistics manual of mental disorders, fifth edition, or in a later edition as adopted by the depar…

"Self-insurer" means an employer or group of employers which has been authorized under this title to carry its own liability to its employees covered by this title.[ 1983 c 174 s 1; 1971 ex.s. c 289 s 80.]Notes:Effective date—Severability—1971 ex.s. c 289: See RCW 51.98.060 and 5…

"State fund" means those funds held by the state or any agency thereof for the purposes of this title. The "state of Washington industrial insurance fund" means the department when acting as the agency to insure the industrial insurance obligation of employers. The terms "state f…

"Successor" means any person to whom a taxpayer quitting, selling out, exchanging, or disposing of a business sells or otherwise conveys, directly or indirectly, in bulk and not in the ordinary course of the taxpayer's business, a major part of the property, whether real or perso…

(1) For the purposes of this title, the monthly wages the worker was receiving from all employment at the time of injury shall be the basis upon which compensation is computed unless otherwise provided specifically in the statute concerned. In cases where the worker's wages are n…

(1) "Worker" means every person in this state who is engaged in the employment of an employer under this title, whether by way of manual labor or otherwise in the course of his or her employment; also every person in this state who is engaged in the employment of or who is workin…

For the purposes of this title, any individual performing services that require registration under chapter 18.27 RCW or licensing under chapter 18.106 or 19.28 RCW for remuneration under an independent contract is not a worker when:(1) The individual has been, and will continue t…

"Employee" shall have the same meaning as "worker" when the context would so indicate, and shall include all officers of the state, state agencies, counties, municipal corporations, or other public corporations, or political subdivisions.[ 1977 ex.s. c 350 s 16; 1972 ex.s. c 43 s…

As an exception to the definition of "employer" under RCW 51.08.070 and the definition of "worker" under RCW 51.08.180, services performed by an individual for remuneration shall not constitute employment subject to this title if it is shown that:(1) The individual has been and w…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 5847-S2.SL) ***"Attending provider" means a person who is a member of the health care provider network established under RCW 51.36.010, is treating injured workers within the person's scope of practice, and is licensed under Title 18 RCW in one of the …

For the purposes of this title, the terms spouse, marriage, marital, husband, wife, widow, widower, next of kin, and family shall be interpreted as applying equally to state registered domestic partnerships or individuals in state registered domestic partnerships as well as to ma…