Category: LNI News (Page 13 of 22)

The New L&I Website and L&I Claim Portal

The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) has revamped its website and the new site is now available publicly. You can have a look at https://www.lni.wa.gov/. According to L&I, the goal is for the new site to be more accessible with simplified and mobile friendly navigation, as well as larger and more readable fonts. Other goals include easier access to sign in to secure online services, and a clean and streamlined look.

The new L&I website: Updates and changes

While the website address has not changed, they have restructured some internal pages. Because of that, the L&I news release indicates users may have to update bookmarks and favorites. For Spanish-speaking work injury claimants, L&I says that its Spanish website is still up and running. As of the time of this writing, the links to the Spanish L&I claim site are broken and are not working, as are other sections of the site. However, the English site still contains help links for people with limited English language abilities.

If you follow my posts, you know I use the L&I website all the time. In my opinion, it is filled with useful information, news bulletins, and important links. For this reason I’ve been both eager and apprehensive for this website upgrade. Today I spent some time exploring the new site. I’m not surprised to discover that it is going to take me a while to get good at using the new site. On the old site, I regularly used the search feature to find specific forms, data, or to research aspects of claim administration. I am a little concerned that the search feature on the new site isn’t as efficient as the old site. I’m also concerned that many of the old information and links are no longer available on the new L&I website.

Searching for L&I forms and links

For example, as a test I searched for both WSF (which is the term for Work Status Form) and WVF (for Work Verification Form). It is a very common form that our injured worker clients fill and file all the time with L&I to keep their time-loss benefits going for their L&I claim. Unfortunately, for both “content” and “forms & publications”, the new site did not return any results. When I searched for Work Status Form, it returned over 800 results. The form wasn’t one of the top results. Finally, I put my search term “Work Status Form” in quotes. Alas, that returned 3 results, one of which was the form.

Therefore, for the record, this is the new link for the Work Status Form. Another important form, the Activity Prescription Form (or APF) can be found in this APF link. This simple exercise suggests that it is going to take time before anyone will be able to effectively navigate the new website. I have to say that they did succeed to make the site look clean with streamlined content. Also, it did work well on mobile.

L&I claim and Account Center

For the L&I Claim and Account Center portal, where anyone can view the status of an L&I claim, there hasn’t seem to be any changes for right now. However, the link for Claims and Accounts Center has changed and it is now https://secure.lni.wa.gov/home/.

L&I is accepting questions, comments and concerns about the new site. Here, feedback can be submitted to WebFeedback@Lni.wa.gov. I think that injured workers and people with L&I claims should spend some time to go over the site and provide feedback. As it stands right now, while new and exciting, the fact remains that older links are not working and a lot of great information that was there before is no longer available.

L-and-I claim for lung and respiratory problems

L&I Approves New Treatment for Severe Upper Cervical and Neck Injuries

/ L&I attorney / 0 Comments

The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) recently announced that it will cover Diaphragmatic Phrenic Nerve Stimulation. It’ll help select injured workers who have partial or complete ventilatory failure or respiratory insufficiency. Sometimes, we see these conditions in an L&I claim for a neck injury or back conditions.

What is ventilatory failure and when does it happen?

This failure often occurs as a result of upper cervical spinal cord injury, to the neck for example. Now, L&I is going to allow a treatment that involves implanting an FDA-approved diaphragmatic/phrenic nerve stimulator. It is an alternative to mechanical ventilation. Moreover, it reduces and sometime even eliminates the need for ventilatory support.

What back injury is covered in the new treatment under my L&I claim?

Five conditions must be met for the treatment to be covered in an L&I claim. Those conditions are:

(1) The injured worker must have ventilatory failure due to upper cervical (neck) spinal cord injury;

(2) The work injury victim cannot breathe spontaneously for 4 continuous hours or more without use of a mechanical ventilator;

(3) The injured claimant’s diaphragm can be stimulated either directly or through the phrenic nerves to generate sufficient movement to accommodate independent breathing without the support of a ventilator for at least 4 continuous hours a day;

(4) The worker who suffered the workplace injury has normal chest wall anatomy and normal lung function; and

(5) The injured worker has normal cognitive function and the motivation to undertake the rehabilitation and training program associated with the use of the device.

What is the process to get the new upper back injury treatment?

As is typical for procedures of this nature, requests for Diaphragmatic Phrenic Nerve Stimulation require prior authorization. Also, it is important to document how the 5 conditions above are met. Proper tracking and documentation can help make the authorization process more efficient. Authorization for State Funded workers’ compensation claims must go through Comagine. Authorization for Self-Insured claims must go through the Self-Insured employer or their third-party administrator (TPA).

Workplace Injury and L&I Claims: It Doesn’t Matter Who’s At Fault

/ L&I attorney / 1 Comment

Many times, work injury clients that that I represent feel that their employer should be held at fault for their workplace injury, work accident, or occupational disease. More often than not, I hear an injured worker say: “It is my employer’s fault I was hurt on the job. They should have to pay.”. However, employers also have frustrations when it comes to who is at fault for an injury. In a recent mediation conference, an employer representative argued that a particular claim shouldn’t be allowed. This is because it was the worker’s fault they got injured. The bottom line is that the whole subject of who’s at fault comes up in workers’ compensation claims and L&I cases a lot more than it should.

The Industrial Insurance Act and letter of the law

Realistically, the Industrial Insurance Act is a no-fault statute. According to RCW 51.04.010, workers’ compensation is designed to provide “sure and certain relief for workers, injured in their work, and their families and dependents […] regardless of questions of fault and to the exclusion of every other remedy, proceeding or compensation”. That’s it.

In fact, the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) describes workers’ compensation as “no-fault” insurance. It eliminates blame to either party for workplace injuries or illnesses. It doesn’t matter who’s fault it was. Consequently, injured workers are entitled to wage and medical benefits, while employers receive immunity from lawsuits, as a result of workplace injury or work related illness suffered by their workers or employees.

Applying the letter of the law: Jury instructions

As a result, when we go to trial, we have a pattern jury instruction that we read to jury members, as follows:

“The Industrial Insurance Act applies regardless of fault or negligence. Therefore, in resolving the issues before you, you are not to consider fault or negligence, if any, of the employer or the worker.”.

Our law makers enacted the Industrial Insurance Act to protect injured workers. Period. No matter who is responsible for the circumstances that led to the injury. Keep that in mind. Let us focus on remembering why our laws were written in the first place. Let’s help injured workers get back on their feet. Let’s help them get back to work if their can, or back to living their life to the full extent possible.