The following words and phrases as used in this chapter have the meanings set forth in this section unless the context otherwise requires.
(1) "Accredited school" means a school or course of instruction which is:
(a) Approved by the state superintendent of public instruction, the state board of education, or the state board for community and technical colleges; or
(b) Regulated or licensed as to course content by any agency of the state or under any occupational licensing act of the state, or recognized by the apprenticeship council under an agreement registered with the apprenticeship council pursuant to chapter
49.04 RCW.
(2) "Average monthly wage" means the average annual wage as determined under RCW
50.04.355 as now or hereafter amended divided by twelve.
(3) "Beneficiary" means a husband, wife, registered domestic partner, or child of a victim in whom shall vest a right to receive payment under this chapter, except that a husband or wife of an injured victim, living separate and apart in a state of abandonment, regardless of the party responsible therefor, for more than one year at the time of the injury or subsequently, shall not be a beneficiary. A spouse who has lived separate and apart from the other spouse for the period of two years and who has not, during that time, received or attempted by process of law to collect funds for maintenance, shall be deemed living in a state of abandonment.
(4) "Child" means every natural born child, posthumous child, stepchild, child legally adopted prior to the injury, child born after the injury where conception occurred prior to the injury, and dependent child in the legal custody and control of the victim, all while under the age of eighteen years, or under the age of twenty-three years while permanently enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited school, and over the age of eighteen years if the child is a dependent as a result of a disability.
(5) "Consumer price index" means the consumer price index compiled by the bureau of labor statistics, United States department of labor for the state of Washington. If the bureau of labor statistics develops more than one consumer price index for areas within the state, the index covering the greatest number of people, covering areas exclusively within the boundaries of the state, and including all items must be used.
(6) "Criminal act" means an act committed or attempted in this state, unless otherwise provided in this chapter, which is: (a) Punishable as a federal offense that is comparable to a felony or gross misdemeanor in this state; (b) punishable as a felony or gross misdemeanor under the laws of this state; (c) an act committed outside the state of Washington against a resident of the state of Washington which would be compensable had it occurred inside this state and the crime occurred in a state which does not have a crime victims' compensation program, for which the victim is eligible as set forth in the Washington compensation law; or (d) trafficking as defined in RCW
9A.40.100. A "criminal act" does not include the following:
(i) The operation of a motor vehicle, motorcycle, train, boat, or aircraft in violation of law unless:
(A) The injury or death was intentionally inflicted;
(B) The operation thereof was part of the commission of another nonvehicular criminal act as defined in this section;
(C) The death or injury was the result of the operation of a motor vehicle after July 24, 1983, and one of the following applies:
(I) A preponderance of the evidence establishes that the death was the result of vehicular homicide under RCW
46.61.520;
(II) The victim submits a copy of a certificate of probable cause filed by the prosecutor stating that a vehicular assault under RCW
46.61.522 occurred;
(III) Charges have been filed against the defendant for vehicular assault under RCW
46.61.522;
(IV) A conviction of vehicular assault under RCW
46.61.522 has been obtained; or
(V) In cases where a probable criminal defendant has died in perpetration of vehicular assault or, in cases where the perpetrator of the vehicular assault is unascertainable because he or she left the scene of the accident in violation of RCW
46.52.020 or, because of physical or mental infirmity or disability the perpetrator is incapable of standing trial for vehicular assault, the department may, by a preponderance of the evidence, establish that a vehicular assault had been committed and authorize benefits;
(D) The injury or death was caused by a driver in violation of RCW
46.61.502; or
(E) The injury or death was caused by a driver in violation of RCW
46.61.655(7)(a), failure to secure a load in the first degree;
(ii) Neither an acquittal in a criminal prosecution nor the absence of any such prosecution is admissible in any claim or proceeding under this chapter as evidence of the noncriminal character of the acts giving rise to such claim or proceeding, except as provided for in (d)(i)(C) of this subsection;
(iii) Evidence of a criminal conviction arising from acts which are the basis for a claim or proceeding under this chapter is admissible in such claim or proceeding for the limited purpose of proving the criminal character of the acts; and
(iv) Acts which, but for the insanity or mental irresponsibility of the perpetrator, would constitute criminal conduct are deemed to be criminal conduct within the meaning of this chapter.
(7) "Department" means the department of labor and industries.
(8) "Financial support for lost wages" means a partial replacement of lost wages due to a temporary or permanent total disability.
(9) "Gainfully employed" means engaging on a regular and continuous basis in a lawful activity from which a person derives a livelihood.
(10) "Injury" means a sudden and tangible happening, of a traumatic nature, producing an immediate or prompt result, and occurring from without, and such physical conditions as result therefrom.
(11) "Invalid" means one who is physically or mentally incapacitated from earning wages.
(12) "Permanent total disability" means loss of both legs, or arms, or one leg and one arm, total loss of eyesight, paralysis, or other condition permanently incapacitating the victim from performing any work at any gainful occupation.
(13) "Private insurance" means any source of recompense provided by contract available as a result of the claimed injury or death at the time of such injury or death, or which becomes available any time thereafter.
(14) "Public insurance" means any source of recompense provided by statute, state or federal, available as a result of the claimed injury or death at the time of such injury or death, or which becomes available any time thereafter.
(15) "Temporary total disability" means any condition that temporarily incapacitates a victim from performing any type of gainful employment as certified by the victim's attending physician.
(16) "Victim" means a person who suffers bodily injury or death as a proximate result of a criminal act of another person, the victim's own good faith and reasonable effort to prevent a criminal act, or his or her good faith effort to apprehend a person reasonably suspected of engaging in a criminal act. For the purposes of receiving benefits pursuant to this chapter, "victim" is interchangeable with "employee" or "worker" as defined in chapter
51.08 RCW as now or hereafter amended.
Findings—Purpose—2002 c 10: "(1) The legislature finds that:
(a) The trafficking in persons is a modern form of slavery, and it is the largest manifestation of slavery today;
(b) At least seven hundred thousand persons annually, primarily women and children, are trafficked within or across international borders;
(c) Approximately fifty thousand women and children are trafficked into the United States each year;
(d) Trafficking in persons is not limited to the sex industry, and includes forced labor with significant violations of labor, public health, and human rights standards worldwide;
(e) Traffickers primarily target women and girls, who are disproportionately affected by poverty, the lack of access to education, chronic unemployment, discrimination, and the lack of economic opportunities in countries of origin; and
(f) There are not adequate services and facilities to meet the needs of trafficking victims regarding health care, housing, education, and legal assistance, which safely reintegrate trafficking victims into their home countries.
(2) The legislature declares that the purpose of this act is to provide a coordinated, humane response for victims of human trafficking through a review of existing programs and clarification of existing options for such victims." [
2002 c 10 s 1.]