Situation: A 35 year old man falls, injures his low back, and opens an L&I claim. The back injury causes additional medical problems, and this man's doctors believe he also requires a total hip replacement. Labor and Industries denies the diagnosis for the hip and attempts to close his claim with no further treatment or benefits.

Result: We reviewed the medical information in his L&I claim file, talked with his doctors, and figured out that we could show by a preponderance of medical opinion that the hip diagnosis WAS related to the slip and fall. After we filed a protest with L&I, we provided a chronological medical summary and we were able to get the hip replacement covered by L&I. We later secured a favorable permanent partial disability (PPD) settlement for the client.

Situation: Woman works for a large airplane manufacturer, suffers multiple injuries and has two open L&I claims. She is given the pink slip and then told she is no longer entitled to time loss benefits.

Result: Our office was able to show that this injured worker was not physically able to return to any employment as a result of the industrial injuries, and that her termination from the employer was bogus. We got for her all her L&I benefits and a permanent total disability pension award.

Situation: A hard working man suffers a serious on the job wrist injury. He's depressed and not healed when L&I charges him with an overpayment and close his claim with no PPD and no job training.

Result: We protest the closure of the claim with L&I and get them to recognize the fact that this man's depression is the result of his work injury. The client receives psychiatric treatment and additional surgery for the wrist. We also get the worker vocational services and the new job he really wanted, where he continues to work to this day.

Situation: A man's daughter calls to discuss her fathers claim. He is 54, doesn't speak very good English, and works for a self-insured employer. He had a lumbar fusion and couldn't return to work, they wondered if it was time to hire an attorney.

Result: We showed them that it was time to hire an attorney; L&I doesn't just hand people pensions, especially when they are not represented and the employer is self insured. We coordinated with the vocational counselor to establish that the worker was entitled to a lifetime pension because of his job injury.

Situation: A man wore out both of his shoulders after 20+ years of heavy construction work. He filed claims for his shoulders, both claims were denied. He hires the wrong attorney and thought everything was being handled for him. The attorney dies, L&I says the denials had become final.

Result: We reviewed the file and found there was enough information to constitute a protest filed away in the claim. The Sharpe Law Firm takes the issue to the Board of Industrial Insurance where the Judge agrees with our analysis, both claims are allowed and we secure 6 years of back time loss benefits for the worker. We will get him a pension before we are done.