April 2006 SBH Quarterly Newsletter
PDF FormatWashington BIIA WC Case Law Update
After our January 2006 newsletter went to the publisher, the Board of
Industrial Insurance Appeals designated the following tentative Significant
Decisions.
Departmental orders need to be communicated before they can become final.
A departmental order must be sent to the party’s representative. The Board
held RCW 51.04.080 required the Department to send all appealable orders to
a party’s representative. Failure to copy the proper parties can lead to an
order never becoming final by operation of law.
Obtaining Second Injury Fund Relief.
To obtain second injury fund relief, the preexisting condition must be
disabling at the time of the injury. The Board refused to grant second
injury fund relief to an employer who only proved the existence of the
condition but failed to prove a preexisting disability existed at the time
of the injury. The Board found there was no evidence the preexisting
conditions hindered the worker’s ability to work or caused permanent
impairment of the worker’s physical and/or mental function. The Board looked
at the condition’s impact on the worker’s physical or mental functioning
and/or loss of earning power. In re Leonard Norgren, BIIA Dec., 04
18211 (2006).
LEP is still payable when worker terminated for insubordination.
A worker terminated while working light duty may still be eligible for loss
of earning power benefits based on earnings that would have been received
but for the unrelated termination. In re Karl D. Bean, BIIA Dec., 04
198814 & 05 15615 (2006).
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