Category: Medical Conditions (Page 9 of 19)

The Industrial Insurance Act governs your workers’ compensation claim in Washington State. You can find this Act in Title 51 of the Revised Code of Washington (or RCW 51 in short). Under RCW 51, the goal is for the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) to provide benefits to work injury claimants and their dependents. Medical and financial benefits are necessary after workers suffer an injury at work or become sick because of their work environment or workplace conditions. Special cases arise with L&I claim for truck drivers. This article tries to help truckers understand some of the issues.

 

Definition of employer and worker in L&I workers’ compensation claim

The law covers work injury and occupational illness that stem from almost any kind of employment in Washington State. In essence, the term “employer” refers to any person, persons (corporate or otherwise), and/or the legal representatives of a deceased person engaged in trade or business in Washington State.  Similarly, virtually every person working for an employer in Washington State is a “worker” under the law. However, despite these very broad definitions of “employer” and “worker”, there are still some exceptions to workplace injury coverage.

 

Washington State workers’ compensation coverage for truckers

Based on these exceptions, disputes can occur over whether there is Washington State coverage, as opposed to some other state or private insurance policy. In my experience, these kinds of disputes happen more frequently in certain professions and industries. On top, they happen when an employer does business in multiple states. Particularly, one industry where Washington State coverage disputes are more common is the Trucking industry.

 

Trucking is a big and important industry in Washington State. For example, companies like Swift Transportation, Reddaway, YRC Transportation, JB Hunt, CR England, and many others provide trucking services. As such, they employ truck driver personnel in Washington State. Yet, these companies also employ truck drivers in other states and internationally. The headquarters for these trucking companies is not in Washington State, even if they employ trucker drivers and other workers here.

 

L&I insurance coverage exemption for truck drivers and truckers

Under RCW 51.12.095, common or contract trucking carriers doing business in Washington State involving interstate and/or foreign commerce must cover their Washington State workers under L&I insurance. However, there is an exemption to this mandate. Back in 1987, the legislature amended the law to allow these kinds of employers to claim an exemption. Here, they are exempted from providing Washington State work injury coverage if they provide workers’ compensation insurance coverage under the laws of another state, which also covers employees in Washington State.

 

Regardless of the exemption, L&I almost always errs on the side of covering Washington State workers. In fact, if an employer thinks they are exempt from Washington State coverage, they can challenge L&I claim allowance and show they have coverage for the employee elsewhere. Recently, I’ve encountered a number of appeals involving this very specific issue. More specifically, it boils down to employer appeal to L&I claim allowance. Unfortunately, people that suffer an injury at work and face employer appeal to try and disallow their claim are often confused and scared.

 

Ensuring work injury insurance coverage for truckers in Washington State

After work injury, workers want to focus on recovery and getting back to work. These kind of employer appeals cause potential delays and stress. They are very frustrating. Nevertheless, the good news is that these disputes are generally easy to resolve. Still, the employer and L&I have attorneys that work on the dispute. Consequently, this leaves work injury claimants feeling that no one out there protects their interest and well-being.

 

Under these circumstances, I always think it’s a good idea for people with an L&I claim to at least consult with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney. At minimum, if you have a workers’ compensation claim, you must understand the process, procedure, and burdens under appeal. On top, you have to know the roles of various entities involved. It will help you reduce stress and decide if hiring an L&I attorney of your own is a good idea.

 

As a workers’ compensation attorney in Washington State, I often see L&I claims involving truck driver work injury. Also, I can attest that trucking work accidents can be severe and costly. In my experience, common occurrences of trucking work injury include slips, trips and falls. These workplace accidents happen in a variety of ways. Sometimes they involve getting in and out of the rig. Other times, they can involve a collision. In some cases, they happen while performing maintenance on the rig or some other activity. For example, securing load or putting up chains. Additionally, many trucking-related work injuries happen during loading, unloading, and moving loads.

 

Work injury in the trucking industry

An industrial injury is when a sudden and tangible incident results in physical harm requiring medical attention. From personal observations, industrial injuries in trucking are quite severe. Maybe it’s because most trucking work injury cases involve large rigs, heavy equipment, as well as heavy loads. More explicitly, I’ve seen examples of truckers’ workplace injury such as falling off loading ramps and docks. Other examples include getting hit by roll-up or swinging doors and slipping and falling getting in and out of the cab. Then, there are also work accident instances when truck drivers are lifting heavy items, or getting hit by freight. Finally, there’s also motor vehicle accidents involving trucks as well as forklift work accidents.

 

Obviously, trucking injuries can impact all parts of the body. After all, it’s an industry that is highly prone to work accidents and devastating injuries. In many incidents we see shoulder injuries, knee injuries, and also neck and low back work-related injuries. In more harsh cases, we also encounter traumatic brain injury (TBI) in trucking as well.

 

Occupational disease and industrial illness in trucking

Of course, L&I claim involving a truck driver might arise from an occupational disease. Specifically, occupational diseases (also known as industrial illness) are conditions caused by job activities. Moreover, these conditions may develop over time. In my experience, truckers are more likely to develop occupational illness on the job if they’ve been doing it a long time. They are also likely to develop an industrial disease when their job involves frequent, repetitive, and heavy lifting activity. Over the years, I’ve seen many trucking-related work diseases.

 

There are distinctive work activities that lead to an occupational disease for truckers. These conditions include repetitive jarring from poor shocks, poor seat design, or seat malfunction. On top, they include repetitive hooking or unhooking large and heavy hoses, repetitive climbing in and out of the cab for short haul routes and repetitive loading of large, heavy, awkward, and bulky freight. As a result, I’ve seen work injury claimants develop sprains and strains, shoulder tears, knee tears, herniated disks, and aggravate degenerative conditions like arthritis.

 

The impact of work injury on truckers

There’s no doubt that truck driving involves labor intensive activities. Many accidents happen with large trucks and heavy equipment. Therefore, trucking work injuries and occupational diseases can seriously impact the ability to work. In trucking, it’s particularly difficult to modify a job for light duty work activity. Consequently, in addition to the medical and other costs of the L&I claim, a trucking workers’ compensation claim is extremely costly for the work injury claimant. Too often, it can end a good career for injured truck drivers.

 

The L&I trucker safety initiative

The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) created the Safety and Health Assessment and Research (SHARP) program. In essence, they designed the program to help improve workplace safety. SHARP maintains that workplace accidents result from preventable exposures. The L&I SHARP program, in partnership with funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is studying occupational safety and health in the trucking industry. This project is called Trucking Injury Reduction Emphasis or TIRES. In fact, the TIRES program already covers a decade of research to prevent slips, trips, falls, strains and sprains, and getting struck by objects. Furthermore, L&I develops materials under the TIRES program to prevent common accidents.

 

L&I published certain statistics that relate to work injuries for truckers. In short, truck drivers and truckers are frequently prone to work injury and accidents on the job. Hence, the TIRES program is working hard to create a trucking-industry-specific safety program. For me, in trucking workers’ compensation claims, I pay special attention to the high price that work injury claimants incur. Therefore, all safety improvements that reduce trucking injury and disease occurrences is a worthwhile and blessed investment.

 

 

Knee workplace injuries are very common in the workers’ compensation claim ecosystem. The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) studied the frequency of knee claims from 1999 through 2007. In conclusion, they found that 7% of all claims involve knee conditions. Practically speaking, that translates into roughly 25,000 knee work injury incidents in under 10 years. According to L&I, knee injuries happen mostly to workers in carpentry, truck driving, nursing aid, and housekeeping. The purpose of this article is to provide more insight into L&I claim for knee injury.

 

Knee workplace injury

The knee is a complex joint. It’s where the lower leg and upper leg join. In other words, the knee joint is the meeting point for the shin and thigh. This important joint must bear weight and connect two large leg bones. That means it must be strong, flexible, and stable. Consequently, there are many important parts of the knee joint that make it function.

 

The patella (also known as kneecap) is at the center of the knee. There is a medial (or inner) meniscus and a lateral (or outer) meniscus. The meniscus is a tough half-moon looking piece of cartilage that cushions and absorbs shock in the joint. There are also four ligaments in the knee connecting the bones. These ligaments are the medial collateral ligament, posterior cruciate ligament, anterior cruciate ligament, and fibular collateral ligament. According to L&I, of the four types, the medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments are the most susceptible to workplace injury.

 

Then, there’s bursae, which are fluid sacs that surround the knee joint. They help with communication and lubrication in the joint. The bursae act like a cushion and reduce friction inside the joint. The knee also has tendons and muscles. They connect muscles and bones and provide strength and stability to the joint. Unfortunately, all these parts of the knee are susceptible to work injury as well as wear and tear.

 

L&I data about knee injury at work

In work setting, there are many ways knee injuries occur. There are also many work activities that place extra stress on the joint and increase wear and tear over time. Clearly, knee injuries and common wear and tear can also occur outside work.

 

In my experience, knee conditions in an L&I claim vary from fairly minor to extremely severe. Doctors often initially diagnose knee conditions as sprains or strains, which we discussed previously. However, according to the data collected by L&I, work-related knee conditions also include meniscus damage and ligament damage. They also include a condition called chondromalacia patellae, tendonitis, bursitis, and enthesopathy. Of course, a serious traumatic work injury can also cause bruising, fractures and breaks in the joint.

 

L&I guides and publications for knee work injury and conditions

L&I studied workplace injury knee conditions extensively. Therefore, there’s plenty of guidelines for treating knee conditions. In 2017, L&I published a 50-page document outlining conservative care options for work-related knee conditions. The document describes and breaks down treatment options. Also, it offers treatment timelines and contains specific diagnosis, resources, and recommendations.

 

Generally, L&I’s treatment protocols prefer to try all conservative options. If they fail, then doctors recommend more invasive treatment. Interestingly, L&I published surgical guidelines for work-related knee injury in 2016. This 28-page document outlines the criteria that L&I uses to authorize treatment. Moreover, it covers a variety of surgical procedures appropriate for specific situations.

 

Notes and summary

In summary, the knee is a complex joint. Knee damage as a result of work activity is fairly common. Furthermore, there are many parts of the knee that can suffer an injury. Knee injuries can be minor, or they can be severe. In fact, there are instances where minor knee damage becomes more severe over time.

 

L&I studied knee conditions and has many resources for work injury claimants. The same resources are also used by your workers’ compensation attorney, as well as the attending physician on your L&I claim. Specifically, medical providers can use these valuable resources to help ensure knee claims progress appropriately.