Work Injury in Washington State

The following information comes from the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries official industrial poster which all employers are required to post.

If a job injury occurs...

Your employer is insured through the Department of Labor
& Industries’ workers’ compensation program. If you are
injured on the job or develop an occupational disease, you
are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.

Benefits include:

Medical care. Medical expenses resulting from your
workplace injury or disease will be paid by the workers’
compensation program.

Disability income. If your work-related medical condition
prevents you from working, you may be eligible for benefits
to partially replace your wages.

Vocational assistance. Under certain conditions, you may be
eligible for help in returning to work.

Partial disability benefits. You may be eligible for a
monetary award to compensate for the loss of body functions.

Pensions. Injuries that permanently keep you from returning
to work may qualify you for a disability pension.

Death benefits for survivors. If a worker dies, the surviving
spouse or registered domestic partner and/or dependents
may receive a pension.

What you should do...

Report your injury. If you are injured, no matter how minor
the injury seems, contact the person in charge of L&I claims.

Get medical care. You may choose any health-care provider
who is qualified to treat your injury. Qualified health-care
providers include: medical, osteopathic, chiropractic,
naturopathic and podiatric physicians; dentists; optometrists;
ophthalmologists; physician assistants; and advanced
registered nurse practitioners.

Tell your health-care provider that your injury or condition
is work related. Your health-care provider will complete a
Report of Industrial Injury or Occupational Disease form and
send it in. This is the first step in filing your workers’
compensation (industrial insurance) claim.

File your claim within set time frames. For an on-the-job
injury, you must file a claim and the Department of Labor &
Industries (L&I) must receive it within one year after the day
the injury occurred. For an occupational disease, you must file
a claim and L&I must receive it within two years following the
date you are advised by a health-care provider in writing that
your condition is work related.