Title 51, INDUSTRIAL INSURANCE

Any sole proprietor, partner, or joint venturer who has requested coverage under this title and who shall thereafter be injured or sustain an occupational disease, shall be entitled to the benefit of this title, as and under the same circumstances and subject to the same obligati…

(1) Except as provided in RCW 43.20B.720, 72.09.111, 74.20A.260, and 51.32.380, no money paid or payable under this title shall , be assigned, charged, or taken in execution, attached, garnished, or pass or be paid to any other person by operation of law, any form of voluntary as…

Any worker or other recipient of benefits under this title may elect to have any payments due paid by debit card or other electronic means or transferred to such person's account in a financial institution for either: (1) Credit to the recipient's account in such financial instit…

(1) Where death results from the injury the expenses of burial not to exceed two hundred percent of the average monthly wage in the state as defined in RCW 51.08.018 shall be paid. (2)(a) Where death results from the injury, a surviving spouse of a deceased worker eligible for be…

(1) In addition to the coverage provided in RCW 51.16.250, death benefits shall be payable in accordance with RCW 51.32.050 when a transportation network company driver's death results from an injury occurring while the driver is: (a) Logged onto the transportation network compan…

(1) One purpose of this title is to restore the injured worker as nearly as possible to the condition of self-support as an able-bodied worker. Benefits for permanent disability shall be determined under the director's supervision, except as otherwise authorized in subsection (9)…

(1) For claims with a date of injury or disease manifestation on or after July 1, 2026, when the supervisor of industrial insurance shall determine that permanent total disability results from the injury, the worker shall receive monthly during the period of such disability, exce…

(1) After a worker elects one of the options in (a), (b), or (c) of this subsection, that option shall apply only if the worker dies during a period of permanent total disability from a cause unrelated to the injury, leaving a surviving spouse, child, children, or other dependent…

(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, every surviving spouse and every permanently totally disabled worker or temporarily totally disabled worker, if such worker was unmarried at the time of the worker's injury or was then married but the marriage was later terminated b…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, each employer shall retain from the earnings of each worker that amount as shall be fixed from time to time by the director, the basis for measuring said amount to be determined by the director. The money so retained shall…

The compensation or death benefits payable pursuant to the provisions of this chapter for temporary total disability, permanent total disability, or death arising out of injuries or occupational diseases shall be adjusted as follows: (1) On July 1, 1982, there shall be an adjustm…

(1)(a) Until July 1, 1993, for the permanent partial disabilities here specifically described, the injured worker shall receive compensation as follows: LOSS BY AMPUTATION Of leg above the knee joint with short thigh stump (3" or less below the tuberosity of ischium). . . . $54,0…

(1) When the total disability is only temporary, the schedule of payments contained in *RCW 51.32.060 (1) and (2) shall apply, so long as the total disability continues. (2) Any compensation payable under this section for children not in the custody of the injured worker as of th…

(1) One of the primary purposes of this title is to enable the injured worker to become employable at gainful employment. To this end, the department or self-insurers must utilize the services of individuals and organizations, public or private, whose experience, training, and in…

(1) To continue the partnership of business and labor with regard to best practices in the provision of vocational services and to identify further improvements to Washington's vocational rehabilitation system and benefits, the director must appoint a vocational rehabilitation ad…

Nothing in RCW 51.32.095 or in the repeal of chapter 51.41 RCW by section 5, chapter 339, Laws of 1985 shall be construed as prohibiting the completion of vocational rehabilitation plans approved under this title prior to May 16, 1985. Injured workers referred for vocational reha…

If it is determined that an injured worker had, at the time of his or her injury, a preexisting disease and that such disease delays or prevents complete recovery from such injury, it shall be ascertained, as nearly as possible, the period over which the injury would have caused …

(1) As required under RCW 51.36.070, any worker entitled to receive any benefits or claiming such under this title shall, if requested by the department or self-insurer, submit himself or herself for medical examination, at a place reasonably convenient for the worker. An injured…

(1) The department shall develop standards for the conduct of special medical examinations to determine permanent disabilities, including, but not limited to: (a) The qualifications of persons conducting the examinations; (b) The criteria for conducting the examinations, includin…

The department shall examine the credentials of persons conducting special medical examinations and shall monitor the quality and objectivity of examinations and reports for the department and self-insured claimants. The department shall adopt rules to ensure that examinations ar…

Should a further accident occur to a worker who has been previously the recipient of a lump sum payment under this title, his or her future compensation shall be adjusted according to the other provisions of this chapter and with regard to the combined effect of his or her injuri…

In case of death or permanent total disability, the monthly payment provided may be converted, in whole or in part, into a lump sum payment, not in any case to exceed eight thousand five hundred dollars, equal or proportionate, as the case may be, to the value of the annuity then…

In pension cases when a worker or beneficiary closes his or her claim by full conversion to a lump sum or in any other manner as provided in RCW 51.32.130 and 51.32.150, such action shall be conclusive and effective to bar any subsequent application or claim relative thereto by t…

Except as otherwise provided by treaty or this title, whenever compensation is payable to a beneficiary who is a noncitizen not residing in the United States, the department or self-insurer, as the case may be, shall pay the compensation to which a resident beneficiary is entitle…

If a beneficiary shall reside or move out of the state, the department may, with the written consent of the beneficiary, convert any monthly payments provided for such cases into a lump sum payment (not in any case to exceed the value of the annuity then remaining, to be fixed an…

(1)(a) If aggravation, diminution, or termination of disability takes place, the director may, upon the application of the beneficiary, made within seven years from the date the first closing order becomes final, or at any time upon his or her own motion, readjust the rate of com…

Every worker who suffers disability from an occupational disease in the course of employment under the mandatory or elective adoption provisions of this title, or his or her family and dependents in case of death of the worker from such disease or infection, shall receive the sam…

(1) For frontline employees who are covered under this title, there exists a prima facie presumption that any infectious or contagious diseases that are transmitted through respiratory droplets or aerosols, or through contact with contaminated surfaces and are the subject of a pu…

(1)(a) In the case of firefighters as defined in RCW 41.26.030(17) (a), (b), (c), and (h) who are covered under this title and firefighters, including supervisors, employed on a full-time, fully compensated basis as a firefighter of a private sector employer's fire department tha…

(1) The definitions in this section apply throughout this section. (a) "Exposed worker(s)" means a worker working at a radiological hazardous waste facility for at least an eight hour shift covered under this title, including conducting an inspection of the facility. (b) "Radiolo…

(1) If the self-insurer denies a claim for compensation, written notice of such denial, clearly informing the claimant of the reasons therefor and that the director will rule on the matter shall be mailed or given to the claimant and the director within thirty days after the self…

On any industrial injury claim where the self-insured employer or injured worker has requested a determination by the department, the self-insurer must submit all medical reports and any other specified information not previously submitted to the department. When the department r…

(1) If a self-insurer fails, refuses, or neglects to comply with a compensation order which has become final and is not subject to review or appeal, the director or any person entitled to compensation under the order may institute proceedings for injunctive or other appropriate r…

Claims of injured workers of employers who have secured the payment of compensation by insuring with the department shall be promptly acted upon by the department. Where temporary disability compensation is payable, the first payment thereof shall be sent within 14 days after rec…

(1)(a) If the worker or beneficiary in a state fund claim prevails in an appeal by any party to the board or the court, the department shall comply with the board or court's order with respect to the payment of compensation within the later of the following time periods: (i) Sixt…

(1) For persons receiving compensation for temporary or permanent total disability pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, such compensation shall be reduced by an amount equal to the benefits payable under the federal old-age, survivors, and disability insurance act as now o…

(1) For persons receiving compensation for temporary or permanent total disability under this title, the compensation shall be reduced by the department to allow an offset for social security retirement benefits payable under the federal social security, old age survivors, and di…

Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, any overpayments previously recovered under the provisions of RCW 51.32.220 as now or hereafter amended shall be limited to six months' overpayments. Where greater recovery has already been made, the director, in his or her discretion,…

(1)(a) Whenever any payment of benefits under this title is made because of clerical error, mistake of identity, innocent misrepresentation by or on behalf of the recipient thereof mistakenly acted upon, or any other circumstance of a similar nature, all not induced by willful mi…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, each self-insured employer shall retain from the earnings of each of its workers that amount as shall be fixed from time to time by the director, the basis for measuring said amount to be determined by the director. These …

Modification of the injured worker's previous job or modification of a new job is recognized as a desirable method of returning the injured worker to gainful employment. In order to assist employers in meeting the costs of job modification, and to encourage employers to modify jo…

Workers otherwise entitled to compensation under this title may also claim compensation for loss of or damage to the worker's personal clothing, footwear or protective equipment resulting from the industrial accident or incurred in the course of emergency medical treatment for in…

The director shall appoint a state employee vocational rehabilitation coordinator who shall provide technical assistance and coordination of claims management to state agencies and institutions of higher education under the state return-to-work programs created by RCW 41.06.490 a…

(1) By July 1, 1994, the department shall establish interim criteria and procedures for management of claims involving chemically related illness to ensure consistency and fairness in the adjudication of these claims. The criteria and procedures shall apply to employees covered b…

The department shall work with the department of health to establish one or more centers for research and clinical assessment of chemically related illness. [ 1994 c 265 s 3.]

(1) The department shall conduct research on chemically related illnesses, which shall include contracting with recognized medical research institutions. The department shall develop an implementation plan for research based on sound scientific research criteria, such as double b…