_______________________________________________
ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL NO. 1396
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 50th Legislature 1988 Regular Session
By Representatives Wang, Patrick and Cole; by request of Department of Labor and Industries
Read first time 1/15/88 and referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.
AN ACT Relating to industrial insurance disability benefits; amending RCW 51.32.050, 51.32.090, 51.32.180, and 51.32.080; reenacting and amending RCW 51.32.060; reenacting RCW 51.32.090; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. Section 51.32.060, chapter 23, Laws of 1961 as last amended by section 5, chapter 58, Laws of 1986 and by section 1, chapter 59, Laws of 1986 and RCW 51.32.060 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(1)
When the supervisor of industrial insurance shall determine that permanent
total disability results from the injury, the worker shall receive monthly ((during
the period of such disability:
(1) If
married at the time of injury, sixty-five percent of his or her wages but not
less than two hundred fifteen dollars per month.
(2) If
married with one child at the time of injury, sixty-seven percent of his or her
wages but not less than two hundred fifty-two dollars per month.
(3) If
married with two children at the time of injury, sixty-nine percent of his or
her wages but not less than two hundred eighty-three dollars.
(4) If
married with three children at the time of injury, seventy-one percent of his
or her wages but not less than three hundred six dollars per month.
(5) If
married with four children at the time of injury, seventy-three percent of his
or her wages but not less than three hundred twenty-nine dollars per month.
(6) If
married with five or more children at the time of injury, seventy-five percent
of his or her wages but not less than three hundred fifty-two dollars per
month.
(7) If
unmarried at the time of the injury, sixty percent of his or her wages but not
less than one hundred eighty-five dollars per month.
(8) If
unmarried with one child at the time of injury, sixty-two percent of his or her
wages but not less than two hundred twenty-two dollars per month.
(9) If
unmarried with two children at the time of injury, sixty-four percent of his or
her wages but not less than two hundred fifty-three dollars per month.
(10) If unmarried
with three children at the time of injury, sixty-six percent of his or her
wages but not less than two hundred seventy-six dollars per month.
(11) If
unmarried with four children at the time of injury, sixty-eight percent of his
or her wages but not less than two hundred ninety-nine dollars per month.
(12) If
unmarried with five or more children at the time of injury, seventy percent of
his or her wages but not less than three hundred twenty-two dollars per month.
(13) For
any period of time where both husband and wife are entitled to compensation as
temporarily or totally disabled workers, only that spouse having the higher
wages of the two shall be entitled to claim their child or children for
compensation purposes)) sixty-six and two-thirds percent of his or her wages at the time
of injury during the period of such disability.
(((14)))
(2) In case of permanent total disability, if the character of the
injury is such as to render the worker so physically helpless as to require the
hiring of the services of an attendant, the department shall make monthly
payments to such attendant for such services as long as such requirement
continues, but such payments shall not obtain or be operative while the worker
is receiving care under or pursuant to the provisions of chapter 51.36 RCW and
RCW 51.04.105.
(((15)))
(3) Should any further accident result in the permanent total disability
of an injured worker, he or she shall receive the pension to which he or she
would be entitled, notwithstanding the payment of a lump sum for his or her
prior injury.
(((16)))
(4) In no event shall the monthly payments provided in this section
exceed ((seventy-five percent)) the applicable percentage of the
average monthly wage in the state as computed under the provisions of RCW
51.08.018((, except that this)) as follows:
!tp1,1 !ixON AND AFTER!TLPERCENTAGE
!ixJuly 1, 1988!tl100%
!ixJuly 1, 1990!tl150%
The
limitations under this subsection shall not apply to the payments
provided for in subsection (((14))) (2) of this section.
(((17)))
(5) In the case of new or reopened claims, if the supervisor of
industrial insurance determines that, at the time of filing or reopening, the
worker is voluntarily retired and is no longer attached to the work force,
benefits shall not be paid under this section.
(((18)))
(6) The benefits provided by this section are subject to modification
under RCW 51.32.067.
Sec. 2. Section 51.32.050, chapter 23, Laws of 1961 as last amended by section 3, chapter 58, Laws of 1986 and RCW 51.32.050 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Where death results from the injury the expenses of burial not to exceed two thousand dollars shall be paid.
(2) (a)
Where death results from the injury, a surviving spouse of a deceased worker
eligible for benefits under this title shall receive monthly for life or until
remarriage ((payments according to the following schedule:
(i) If
there are no children of the deceased worker, sixty percent of the wages of
the deceased worker but not less than one hundred eighty-five dollars;
(ii) If
there is one child of the deceased worker and in the legal custody of such
spouse, sixty-two percent of the wages of the deceased worker but not less
than two hundred twenty-two dollars;
(iii) If
there are two children of the deceased worker and in the legal custody of such
spouse, sixty-four percent of the wages of the deceased worker but not less
than two hundred fifty-three dollars;
(iv) If
there are three children of the deceased worker and in the legal custody of
such spouse, sixty-six percent of the wages of the deceased worker but not
less than two hundred seventy-six dollars;
(v) If
there are four children of the deceased worker and in the legal custody of such
spouse, sixty-eight percent of the wages of the deceased worker but not less
than two hundred ninety-nine dollars; or
(vi) If
there are five or more children of the deceased worker and in the legal
custody of such spouse, seventy percent of the wages of the deceased worker but
not less than three hundred twenty-two dollars.
(b) Where
the surviving spouse does not have legal custody of any child or children of
the deceased worker or where after the death of the worker legal custody of
such child or children passes from such surviving spouse to another, any
payment on account of such child or children not in the legal custody of the
surviving spouse shall be made to the person or persons having legal custody of
such child or children. The amount of such payments shall be five percent of
the monthly benefits payable as a result of the worker's death for each such
child but such payments shall not exceed twenty-five percent. Such payments on
account of such child or children shall be subtracted from the amount to which
such surviving spouse would have been entitled had such surviving spouse had
legal custody of all of the children and the surviving spouse shall receive the
remainder after such payments on account of such child or children have been
subtracted. Such payments on account of a child or children not in the legal
custody of such surviving spouse shall be apportioned equally among such
children)) sixty-six and
two-thirds percent of the worker's wage at the time of injury.
(((c)))
(b) Payments to the surviving spouse of the deceased worker shall cease
at the end of the month in which remarriage occurs: PROVIDED, That ((the))
a monthly payment shall be made to the child or children of the
deceased worker ((shall)) from the month following such remarriage ((be))
in a sum equal to five percent of the wages of the deceased worker for
one child and a sum equal to five percent for each additional child up to a
maximum of five such children. Payments to such child or children shall be
apportioned equally among such children. Such sum shall be in place of any
payments theretofore made for the benefit of or on account of any such child or
children. If the surviving spouse does not have legal custody of any child
or children of the deceased worker, or if after the death of the worker, legal
custody of such child or children passes from such surviving spouse to another,
any payment on account of such child or children not in the legal custody of
the surviving spouse shall be made to the person or persons having legal
custody of such child or children.
(((d)))
(c) In no event shall the monthly payments provided in subsection (2) of
this section exceed ((seventy-five percent)) the applicable percentage
of the average monthly wage in the state as computed under RCW 51.08.018((.))
as follows:
!tp1,1 !ixON AND AFTER!TLPERCENTAGE
!ixJuly 1, 1988!tl100%
!ixJuly 1, 1990!tl150%
(((e)))
(d) In addition to the monthly payments provided for in (2)(a) ((through
(2)(c))) and (b) of this section, a surviving spouse or child or
children of such worker if there is no surviving spouse, or dependent parent
or parents, if there is no surviving spouse or child or children of any such
deceased worker shall be forthwith paid the sum of one thousand six hundred
dollars, any such children, or parents to share and share alike in said sum.
(((f)))
(e) ((Upon remarriage of a surviving spouse the monthly payments for
the child or children shall continue as provided in this section, but the
monthly payments to such surviving spouse shall cease at the end of the month
during which remarriage occurs. However,)) After September 8, 1975,
an otherwise eligible surviving spouse of a worker who died at any time prior
to or after September 8, 1975, shall have an option of:
(i) Receiving, once and for all, a lump sum of seventy-five hundred dollars or fifty percent of the then remaining annuity value of his or her pension, whichever is the lesser: PROVIDED, That if the injury occurred prior to July 1, 1971, the remarriage benefit lump sum available shall be as provided in the remarriage benefit schedules then in effect; or
(ii) If a
surviving spouse does not choose the option specified in (2)(((f)))(e)(i)
of this section to accept the lump sum payment, the remarriage of the surviving
spouse of a worker shall not bar him or her from claiming the lump sum payment
authorized in (2)(((f)))(e)(i) of this section during the life of
the remarriage, or shall not prevent subsequent monthly payments to him or to
her if the remarriage has been terminated by death or has been dissolved or
annulled by valid court decree provided he or she has not previously accepted
the lump sum payment.
(((g)))
(f) If the surviving spouse during the remarriage should die without
having previously received the lump sum payment provided in (2)(((f)))(e)(i)
of this section, his or her estate shall be entitled to receive the sum of
seventy-five hundred dollars or fifty percent of the then remaining annuity
value of his or her pension whichever is the lesser.
(((h)))
(g) The effective date of resumption of payments under (2)(((f)))(e)(ii)
of this section to a surviving spouse based upon termination of a remarriage by
death, annulment, or dissolution shall be the date of the death or the date the
judicial decree of annulment or dissolution becomes final and when application
for the payments has been received.
(((i)))
(h) If it should be necessary to increase the reserves in the reserve
fund or to create a new pension reserve fund as a result of the amendments in
chapter 45, Laws of 1975-'76 2nd ex. sess., the amount of such increase in
pension reserve in any such case shall be transferred to the reserve fund from
the supplemental pension fund.
(3) If
there is a child or children and no surviving spouse of the deceased worker or
the surviving spouse is not eligible for benefits under this title, a sum equal
to thirty-five percent of the wages of the deceased worker shall be paid
monthly for one child and a sum equivalent to fifteen percent of such wage
shall be paid monthly for each additional child, the total of such sum to be
divided among such children, share and share alike: PROVIDED, That benefits
under this subsection or subsection (4) shall not exceed ((sixty-five)) the
lesser of sixty-six and two-thirds percent of the wages of the deceased
worker at the time of his or her death, or ((seventy-five percent))
the applicable percentage of the average monthly wage in the state as
defined in RCW 51.08.018((, whichever is the lesser of the two sums.)) as
follows:
!tp1,1 !ixON AND AFTER!TLPERCENTAGE
!ixJuly 1, 1988!tl100%
!ixJuly 1, 1990!tl150%
(4) In the event a surviving spouse receiving monthly payments dies, the child or children of the deceased worker shall receive the same payment as provided in subsection (3) of this section.
(5) If the
worker leaves no surviving spouse or child, but leaves a dependent or
dependents, a monthly payment shall be made to each dependent equal to fifty
percent of the average monthly support actually received by such dependent from
the worker during the twelve months next preceding the occurrence of the
injury, but the total payment to all dependents in any case shall not exceed ((sixty-five))
the lesser of sixty-six and two-thirds percent of the wages of the
deceased worker at the time of the death, or ((seventy-five percent))
the applicable percentage of the average monthly wage in the state as
defined in RCW 51.08.018((, whichever is the lesser of the two sums.)) as
follows:
!tp1,1 !ixON AND AFTER!TLPERCENTAGE
!ixJuly 1, 1988!tl100%
!ixJuly 1, 1990!tl150%
!ixIf any dependent is under the age of eighteen years at the time of the occurrence of the injury, the payment to such dependent shall cease when such dependent reaches the age of eighteen years except such payments shall continue until the dependent reaches age twenty-three while permanently enrolled at a full time course in an accredited school. The payment to any dependent shall cease if and when, under the same circumstances, the necessity creating the dependency would have ceased if the injury had not happened.
(6) For claims filed prior to July 1, 1986, if the injured worker dies during the period of permanent total disability, whatever the cause of death, leaving a surviving spouse, or child, or children, the surviving spouse or child or children shall receive benefits as if death resulted from the injury as provided in subsections (2) through (4) of this section. Upon remarriage or death of such surviving spouse, the payments to such child or children shall be made as provided in subsection (2) of this section when the surviving spouse of a deceased worker remarries.
(7) For claims filed on or after July 1, 1986, every worker who becomes eligible for permanent total disability benefits shall elect an option as provided in RCW 51.32.067.
Sec. 3. Section 2, chapter 59, Laws of 1986 and RCW 51.32.090 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) When
the total disability is only temporary, ((the schedule of payments contained
in subsections (1) through (13) of RCW 51.32.060 as amended shall apply,)) the
worker shall receive sixty-six and two-thirds percent of his or her wages at
the time of the injury so long as the total disability continues.
(2) ((Any
compensation payable under this section for children not in the custody of the
injured worker as of the date of injury shall be payable only to such person as
actually is providing the support for such child or children pursuant to the
order of a court of record providing for support of such child or children.
(3))) As soon as recovery is so complete that the present
earning power of the worker, at any kind of work, is restored to that existing
at the time of the occurrence of the injury, the payments shall cease. If and
so long as the present earning power is only partially restored, the payments
shall continue in the proportion which the new earning power shall bear to the
old. No compensation shall be payable unless the loss of earning power shall
exceed five percent. However, during the period a worker returns to light-duty
work, receives disability leave supplement payments pursuant to RCW 41.04.500
through 41.04.530, and is otherwise eligible for compensation under this
section, the worker shall continue to receive such compensation at the rate
provided under RCW 51.32.060 (((1) through (13))).
(((4)))
(3) Whenever an employer requests that a worker who is entitled to
temporary total disability under this chapter be certified by a physician as
able to perform available work other than his or her usual work, the employer
shall furnish to the physician, with a copy to the worker, a statement
describing the available work in terms that will enable the physician to relate
the physical activities of the job to the worker's disability. The physician
shall then determine whether the worker is physically able to perform the work
described. If the worker is released by his or her physician for said work,
and the work thereafter comes to an end before the worker's recovery is
sufficient in the judgment of his or her physician to permit him or her to
return to his or her usual job, or to perform other available work, the
worker's temporary total disability payments shall be resumed. Should the
available work described, once undertaken by the worker, impede his or her
recovery to the extent that in the judgment of his or her physician he or she
should not continue to work, the worker's temporary total disability payments
shall be resumed when the worker ceases such work.
Once the worker returns to work under the terms of this subsection, he or she shall not be assigned by the employer to work other than the available work described without the worker's written consent, or without prior review and approval by the worker's physician.
In the event of any dispute as to the worker's ability to perform the available work offered by the employer, the department shall make the final determination.
(((5)))
(4) No worker shall receive compensation for or during the day on which
injury was received or the three days following the same, unless his or her
disability shall continue for a period of fourteen consecutive calendar days
from date of injury: PROVIDED, That attempts to return to work in the first
fourteen days following the injury shall not serve to break the continuity of
the period of disability if the disability continues fourteen days after the
injury occurs.
(((6)))
(5) Should a worker suffer a temporary total disability and should his
or her employer at the time of the injury continue to pay him or her the wages
which he or she was earning at the time of such injury, such injured worker
shall not receive any payment provided in subsection (1) of this section during
the period his or her employer shall so pay such wages. This limitation does
not apply to disability leave supplement payments made pursuant to RCW
41.04.500 through 41.04.530.
(((7)))
(6) In no event shall the monthly payments provided in this section
exceed ((seventy-five percent)) the applicable percentage of the
average monthly wage in the state as computed under the provisions of RCW
51.08.018((.)) as follows:
!tp1,1 !ixON AND AFTER!TLPERCENTAGE
!ixJuly 1, 1988!tl100%
!ixJuly 1, 1990!tl150%
(((8)))
(7) If the supervisor of industrial insurance determines that the worker
is voluntarily retired and is no longer attached to the work force, benefits
shall not be paid under this section.
Sec. 4. Section 51.32.090, chapter 23, Laws of 1961 as last amended by section 3, chapter 59, Laws of 1986 and by section 3 of this 1988 act and RCW 51.32.090 are each reenacted to read as follows:
(1) When the total disability is only temporary, the worker shall receive sixty-six and two-thirds percent of his or her wages at the time of the injury so long as the total disability continues.
(2) As soon as recovery is so complete that the present earning power of the worker, at any kind of work, is restored to that existing at the time of the occurrence of the injury, the payments shall cease. If and so long as the present earning power is only partially restored, the payments shall continue in the proportion which the new earning power shall bear to the old. No compensation shall be payable unless the loss of earning power shall exceed five percent.
(3) Whenever an employer requests that a worker who is entitled to temporary total disability under this chapter be certified by a physician as able to perform available work other than his or her usual work, the employer shall furnish to the physician, with a copy to the worker, a statement describing the available work in terms that will enable the physician to relate the physical activities of the job to the worker's disability. The physician shall then determine whether the worker is physically able to perform the work described. If the worker is released by his or her physician for said work, and the work thereafter comes to an end before the worker's recovery is sufficient in the judgment of his or her physician to permit him or her to return to his or her usual job, or to perform other available work, the worker's temporary total disability payments shall be resumed. Should the available work described, once undertaken by the worker, impede his or her recovery to the extent that in the judgment of his or her physician he or she should not continue to work, the worker's temporary total disability payments shall be resumed when the worker ceases such work.
Once the worker returns to work under the terms of this subsection, he or she shall not be assigned by the employer to work other than the available work described without the worker's written consent, or without prior review and approval by the worker's physician.
In the event of any dispute as to the worker's ability to perform the available work offered by the employer, the department shall make the final determination.
(4) No worker shall receive compensation for or during the day on which injury was received or the three days following the same, unless his or her disability shall continue for a period of fourteen consecutive calendar days from date of injury: PROVIDED, That attempts to return to work in the first fourteen days following the injury shall not serve to break the continuity of the period of disability if the disability continues fourteen days after the injury occurs.
(5) Should a worker suffer a temporary total disability and should his or her employer at the time of the injury continue to pay him or her the wages which he or she was earning at the time of such injury, such injured worker shall not receive any payment provided in subsection (1) of this section during the period his or her employer shall so pay such wages.
(6) In no event shall the monthly payments provided in this section exceed the applicable percentage of the average monthly wage in the state as computed under the provisions of RCW 51.08.018 as follows:
!tp1,1 !ixON AND AFTER!TLPERCENTAGE
!ixJuly 1, 1988!tl100%
!ixJuly 1, 1990!tl150%
(7) If the supervisor of industrial insurance determines that the worker is voluntarily retired and is no longer attached to the work force, benefits shall not be paid under this section.
Sec. 5. Section 51.32.180, chapter 23, Laws of 1961 as last amended by section 53, chapter 350, Laws of 1977 ex. sess. and RCW 51.32.180 are each amended to read as follows:
Every
worker who suffers disability from an occupational disease in the course of
employment under the mandatory or elective adoption provisions of this title,
or his or her family and dependents in case of death of the worker from such
disease or infection, shall receive the same compensation benefits and medical,
surgical and hospital care and treatment as would be paid and provided for a
worker injured or killed in employment under this title((: PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, That)), except as follows: (a) This section and RCW
51.16.040 shall not apply where the last exposure to the hazards of the disease
or infection occurred prior to January 1, 1937; and (b) for claims filed on
or after July 1, 1988, the rate of compensation for occupational diseases shall
be established as of the date the disease requires medical treatment or becomes
totally or partially disabling, whichever occurs first, and without regard to
the date of the contraction of the disease or the date of filing the claim.
Sec. 6. Section 51.32.080, chapter 23, Laws of 1961 as last amended by section 2, chapter 58, Laws of 1986 and RCW 51.32.080 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) For the permanent partial disabilities here specifically described, the injured worker shall receive compensation as follows:
LOSS BY AMPUTATION
@i2!tp1Of leg above the knee joint with short thigh stump (3" or less below the tuberosity of ischium)!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr$54,000.00
@i2Of leg at or above knee joint with functional stump!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr48,600.00
@i2Of leg below knee joint!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr43,200.00
@i2Of leg at ankle (Syme)!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr37,800.00
@i2Of foot at mid-metatarsals!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr18,900.00
@i2Of great toe with resection of metatarsal bone!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr11,340.00
@i2Of great toe at metatarsophalangeal joint!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr6,804.00
@i2Of great toe at interphalangeal joint!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr3,600.00
@i2Of lesser toe (2nd to 5th) with resection of metatarsal bone!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr4,140.00
@i2Of lesser toe at metatarsophalangeal joint!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr2,016.00
@i2Of lesser toe at proximal interphalangeal joint!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr1,494.00
@i2Of lesser toe at distal interphalangeal joint!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr378.00
@i2Of arm at or above the deltoid insertion or by disarticulation at the shoulder!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr54,000.00
@i2Of arm at any point from below the deltoid insertion to below the elbow joint at the insertion of the biceps tendon!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr51,300.00
@i2Of arm at any point from below the elbow joint distal to the insertion of the biceps tendon to and including mid-metacarpal amputation of the hand!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr48,600.00
@i2Of all fingers except the thumb at metacarpophalangeal joints!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr29,160.00
@i2Of thumb at metacarpophalangeal joint or with resection of carpometacarpal bone!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr19,440.00
@i2Of thumb at interphalangeal joint!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr9,720.00
@i2Of index finger at metacarpophalangeal joint or with resection of metacarpal bone!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr12,150.00
@i2Of index finger at proximal interphalangeal joint!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr9,720.00
@i2Of index finger at distal interphalangeal joint!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr5,346.00
@i2Of middle finger at metacarpophalangeal joint or with resection of metacarpal bone!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr9,720.00
@i2Of middle finger at proximal interphalangeal joint!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr7,776.00
@i2Of middle finger at distal interphalangeal joint!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr4,374.00
@i2Of ring finger at metacarpophalangeal joint or with resection of metacarpal bone!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr4,860.00
@i2Of ring finger at proximal interphalangeal joint!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr3,888.00
@i2Of ring finger at distal interphalangeal joint!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr2,430.00
@i2Of little finger at metacarpophalangeal joint or with resection of metacarpal bone!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr2,430.00
@i2Of little finger at proximal interphalangeal joint!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr1,944.00
@i2Of little finger at distal interphalangeal joint!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr972.00
MISCELLANEOUS
@i2Loss of one eye by enucleation!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr21,600.00
@i2Loss of central visual acuity in one eye!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr18,000.00
@i2Complete loss of hearing in both ears!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr43,200.00
@i2Complete loss of hearing in one ear!w× !tr!sc ,14
!ae0!tr7,200.00!te
(2)
Compensation for amputation of a member or part thereof at a site other than
those above specified, and for loss of central visual acuity and loss of
hearing other than complete, shall be in proportion to that which such other
amputation or partial loss of visual acuity or hearing most closely resembles
and approximates. Compensation for any other permanent partial disability not
involving amputation shall be in the proportion which the extent of such other
disability, called unspecified disability, shall bear to that above specified,
which most closely resembles and approximates in degree of disability such
other disability, compensation for any other unspecified permanent partial
disability shall be in an amount as measured and compared to total bodily
impairment: PROVIDED, That in order to reduce litigation and establish more
certainty and uniformity in the rating of unspecified permanent partial
disabilities, the department shall enact rules having the force of law
classifying such disabilities in the proportion which the department shall
determine such disabilities reasonably bear to total bodily impairment. In
enacting such rules, the department shall give consideration to, but need not
necessarily adopt, any nationally recognized medical standards or guides for
determining various bodily impairments. For purposes of calculating monetary
benefits, the amount payable for total bodily impairment shall be deemed to be
ninety thousand dollars: PROVIDED, ((That compensation for unspecified
permanent partial disabilities involving injuries to the back that do not have
marked objective clinical findings to substantiate the disability shall be
determined at an amount equal to seventy-five percent of the monetary value of
such disability as related to total bodily impairment: PROVIDED FURTHER,))
That the total compensation for all unspecified permanent partial disabilities
resulting from the same injury shall not exceed the sum of ninety thousand
dollars((, except that the total compensation for all unspecified permanent
partial disabilities involving injuries to the back that do not have marked
objective clinical findings to substantiate the disability and resulting from
the same injury shall not exceed the sum of sixty-seven thousand five hundred
dollars)): PROVIDED FURTHER, That in case permanent partial disability
compensation is followed by permanent total disability compensation, any
portion of the permanent partial disability compensation which exceeds the
amount that would have been paid the injured worker if permanent total
disability compensation had been paid in the first instance, shall be deducted
from the pension reserve of such injured worker and his or her monthly
compensation payments shall be reduced accordingly.
(3) Should a worker receive an injury to a member or part of his or her body already, from whatever cause, permanently partially disabled, resulting in the amputation thereof or in an aggravation or increase in such permanent partial disability but not resulting in the permanent total disability of such worker, his or her compensation for such partial disability shall be adjudged with regard to the previous disability of the injured member or part and the degree or extent of the aggravation or increase of disability thereof.
(4) When the compensation provided for in subsections (1) and (2) exceeds three times the average monthly wage in the state as computed under the provisions of RCW 51.08.018, payment shall be made in monthly payments in accordance with the schedule of temporary total disability payments set forth in RCW 51.32.090 until such compensation is paid to the injured worker in full, except that the first monthly payment shall be in an amount equal to three times the average monthly wage in the state as computed under the provisions of RCW 51.08.018, and interest shall be paid at the rate of eight percent on the unpaid balance of such compensation commencing with the second monthly payment: PROVIDED, That upon application of the injured worker or survivor the monthly payment may be converted, in whole or in part, into a lump sum payment, in which event the monthly payment shall cease in whole or in part. Such conversion may be made only upon written application of the injured worker or survivor to the department and shall rest in the discretion of the department depending upon the merits of each individual application: PROVIDED FURTHER, That upon death of a worker all unpaid installments accrued shall be paid according to the payment schedule established prior to the death of the worker to the widow or widower, or if there is no widow or widower surviving, to the dependent children of such claimant, and if there are no such dependent children, then to such other dependents as defined by this title.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Section 4 of this act shall take effect on June 30, 1989.