Page 57 of 68

Workers Compensation Attorney and L&I Lawyer

Thank you for visiting my blog. My name is Tara Reck and I am a managing L&I attorney at Reck Law, PLLC. Every workers’ compensation attorney and L&I attorney at our office is dedicated 100% to representing work injury claimants in Washington State. We have several offices in the Puget Sound area and we represent injured workers all over the state.

If you need help with your L&I claim, self-insured employer claim, or any other workers’ compensation or work injury claim, please give us a call to schedule a free consultation with an L&I attorney. We help with claim management, appeals and litigation with L&I and the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals, Washington State Superior Court, Court of Appeals, and Washington State Supreme Court, as needed.

Send me a message

Call for free consultation

Reck Law, PLLC – Office Locations
Seattle & Bellevue 2731 77th Ave SE #203 Mercer Island, WA 98040 Map and directions (206) 395-6141	Tacoma 2367 Tacoma Ave S #110 Tacoma, WA 98402 Map and directions (253) 999-9828
Renton 707 S Grady Way #600 Suite R Renton, WA 98057 Map and directions (425) 800-8195	Port Orchard 219 Prospect St Port Orchard, WA 98366 Map and directions (360) 876-4123

Filing a Complaint Against Independent Medical Examination Doctors

/ L&I attorney / 2 Comments

Did you know that you can file a complaint against an IME doctor if the doctor does not perform his or her professional duties? And that L&I takes these complaints very seriously? This applies for both L&I claims and self-insured employer claims.

The role of the IME doctor

One of the most common complaints I receive as an attorney for injured workers has to do with Independent Medical Examinations (IMEs) . L&I and self-insured employers can compel injured workers to attend IMEs, and failure to attend an IME when requested can result in suspension of benefits. However, IMEs are designed to establish clinical observations and conclusions about an injured workers’ condition. L&I expects IMEs to be high quality, and to help protect the rights of workers and employers in Washington state by enabling accurate and even-handed industrial insurance benefit payment.

According to the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I), IMEs should provide unbiased, accurate and comprehensive information, and should be carried out with dignity and respect for the worker. Therefore, whenever I hear a report that an injured worker has had an un-dignified experience during an IME, I recommend filing a written complaint with L&I so that the undignified behavior is documented and investigated. The complaint form can be found here: https://lni.wa.gov/dA/983dd6678d/F262-289-000.pdf.

Complaints against IME doctors

Because I am a member of WSAJ (The Washington State Association for Justice), today I received a summary of a recent Labor and Business committee meeting in which IME complaints were discussed. I was very interested to learn that when data from 2018 was studied, it was discovered that 21,431 independent medical examinations occurred
on state funded claims in 2018. Those exams were performed by 448 approved IME examiners. Out of over twenty-thousand examinations preformed, 419 complaints were logged, mostly regarding orthopedic, neurologic and psychiatric examiners. However, even more interestingly, of the 419 complaints logged, 48% of the complaints came from case managers and occupational nurse consultations, while only 38% of the complaints came from injured workers. This statistical data suggests that L&I is genuinely interested in having IMEs conducted in an appropriate manner and actively takes steps internally to document inappropriate IMEs.

Were you mistreated? File a complaint against IME doctor

In addition to documenting IME complaints, L&I has an occupational nurse consultant whose job is to review IME reports, to investigate complaints, and to conduct random reviews. The occupational nurse consultant will also review
the companies that perform IMEs through site visits to learn about on-boarding and examiner training. Moreover, the consultant will review confidentiality and chain of custody for sensitive medical information, provide quality oversight, review scheduling, and address the requirement for 14 day turn around for IME reports and addendums.

However, to a certain extent, L&I’s ability to ensure quality in IMEs is only as good as the information it receives. L&I has dedicated resources to implement quality assurance in the IME process. Therefore, it is important for injured workers to document any IME behavior that deviates from L&Is goals of having dignified, respectful, unbiased, accurate and comprehensive IMEs, by filing a written complaint so that L&I can investigate. In addition to completing L&I’s IME comment form, complaints can also be submitted via email to imecomplaints@lni.wa.gov. However, it should be noted that the IME complaint will likely be shared with IME examiner so that
they are given an opportunity to respond to the complaint.

Preferred Worker Program for Injured Workers in Washington State

/ L&I attorney / 0 Comments

Have you ever heard the term Preferred Worker as it relates to injured workers and L&I or self-insured workers’ compensation claims? The preferred worker program is a return to work incentive program offered by L&I that benefits both employers and injured workers.

Preferred Workers Program in L&I workers’ compensation cases

Pursuant to WAC 296-16-110, under this program, L&I may certify an injured worker who has permanent medical restrictions as a “preferred worker“. This certification enables an employer to receive financial incentives when they hire the injured worker for a medically-approved, long-term job. Moreover, an injured worker certified as a “preferred worker” can use that status to make themselves a more competitive hire.

Benefits for employers

Employers who create a safe, long-term, medically appropriate job for a preferred worker become eligible for significant benefits including:
1) Reimbursements including 50% of the base wages paid to the preferred worker, for up to 66 days or up to $10,000 within a consecutive 24-month period;
2) Up to $2500 for tools and equipment; and
3) Up to $400 for worker clothing;
In addition to these reimbursements, the employer may become eligible for an additional incentive payment of 10% of the worker’s wages or $10,000 (whichever is less) after 12 months of continuous employment of the preferred worker. On top, hiring a preferred worker also comes with premium incentives: L&I will pay or reimburse the cost of a new claim filed within the certification period with no penalty on the business.

Preferred Worker Program: Tips for injured workers

If you are an injured worker trying to return to the workforce, be sure to ask your vocational counselor whether you qualify for “preferred worker” certification. If you are certified, the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) will provide you with a letter confirming your certification. You will also receive a brochure you can present to prospective employers to educate them on all the benefits available when they hire a preferred worker.

If you are an employer interested in learning more about the incentives for hiring preferred workers, the L&I website has lots of information. L&I resources include informational webinar, the documents required to apply for the incentives, and an “apply here” link to apply online through the Secure Access Washington portal.

Conclusions and takeaways

Under the right circumstances, the preferred worker program can be very beneficial for injured workers returning to work and for accommodating employers. However, one significant shortcoming of the preferred worker program is that certification is only granted to injured workers who have a state funded claim. Injured workers of self-insured employers are not currently eligible for preferred worker certification. In my opinion this is a grave injustice to self-insured injured workers and I am currently exploring avenues for correcting this inequity.

Workers Compensation - Washington