The Practical Effects of $400,000 and 651 Pages: Where Are We at With PTSD Claims in Washington?
By Jessica G. Pennington, Attorney at Law
Washington’s 2024 Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill (ESSB) 5950 allocated $400,000 for the Department of Labor and Industries in Washington to contract with a third-party vendor to create a report assessing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) policies and claims throughout workers’ compensation systems in Washington, nationwide, and internationally. The intent behind this report was to “inform the department on policy and best practices that improve worker outcomes for law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses.” The Department was then required to submit a separate report to the Washington governor and relevant legislative committees detailing the results and recommendations based on the third-party report. [1]
The Department of Labor and Industries contracted with consulting firm MasDyne for a 651 page research report on PTSD across workers’ compensation systems.[2] MasDyne’s report emphasized the shortage of qualified mental health care providers throughout workers’ compensation systems and specifies that this shortage can lead to prolonged recovery times and additional barriers for workers to return to the workforce.[3] The report also indicates a lack of training, onboarding, and feedback loops for mental health providers in the workers’ compensation systems, in turn leading to providers who are unprepared for the challenges/demands of an administrative system such as workers’ compensation.[4] The report suggests that workers’ compensation systems should invest in “onboarding, specialized training, certification pathways, and supportive incentive models,” to help ensure high quality care for mental health conditions within workers’ compensation systems.[5]
One solution the article offers for improving outcomes and returning workers to work is provisional access to mental health care before a formal claim, including provisional payments, even if a mental health claim is ultimately denied.[6] In theory this sounds like a great early intervention care idea, but practically seems to allow room for significant costs to the employer with no guarantee of successful outcomes. Mental health care treatment in Washington, specifically for first responders, often includes residential stays in programs like Deer Hollow, with costs trending in the $50,000 to $100,000 range. In order for a system of early intervention care to help workers without adding additional financial strain for employers, there would likely need to be a rigid protocol for what treatment would be considered acceptable in situations where a mental health/PTSD condition has not yet been accepted. However, MasDyne’s report does recommend systematic evaluation of PTSD programs with “structured vetting frameworks”, which in theory could help prevent ineffective and costly mental health treatment/programs.[7]
MasDyne’s report includes recommendations for PTSD claims throughout workers compensation and other systems as well as recommendations specifically focused on the Washington Department of Labor and Industries.[8] One solution directed specifically at the Department of Labor and Industries is the implementation of “integrated return-to-work planning teams composed of mental health providers, vocational rehabilitation counselors, claims managers, and employers.”[9] The intentions of these teams would be to “collaboratively develop structured, claimant-centered-return-to-work strategies. . . .”[10] MasDyne’s report indicates that such multidisciplinary return-to-work programs, in areas outside of workers’ compensation and outside of Washington, have proven effective in long-term work participation.[11] The report provides support for “graded reintroduction to work tasks,” and “integrating return-to-work planning into active treatment phases, rather than deferring it until maximum medical improvement.”[12]
In the Department of Labor and Industries June 2025 report to the legislature, they provided a list of recommendations from those within the MasDyne report, which the Department believed could be implemented with current resources and external stakeholder partnership.[13] Among this list was the expansion of an already existing claims management team to a specialized claims team for PTSD claims, including “embedded mental health expertise.”[14] One of the goals of this team would be return-to-work planning, but the Department did not include implementation of an integrated return-to-work planning team as part of their list of recommendations able to be implemented using current resources and external stakeholder partnership.[15]
In summary, the Department has been provided with a 651 page report intended to help smooth the processes with PTSD claims in Washington workers’ compensation. The Department has reviewed these recommendations and provided the legislature with an overview of their takeaways from this report, however the practical effects of this lengthy and expensive project remain to be seen. If you have a claim involving PTSD, and need additional information and guidance, please feel free to reach out to our firm. Our Washington Practice group would be happy to provide assistance navigating the rocky terrain of PTSD claims.
[1] Leg. Engrossed Substitute S. Bill 5950, S. Ways & Means, 68th legis. Sess. (Wash. 2024), and Wash. State Dep’t of Lab. & Indus., Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Survey and Jurisdictional Review: 2025 Report to the Legislature, (June 2025), https://www.lni.wa.gov/agency/_docs/2025PTSDsurveyJurisdictionalReviewReport.pdf.
[2] MasDyne Research, PTSD Survey and Jurisdictional Review: A Broad-Spectrum Analysis of PTSD Across Workers’ Compensation and Comparable Systems, (June 2025), https://www.lni.wa.gov/agency/_docs/250630masdynereport.pdf.
[3] Id at 21.
[4] Id at 22.
[5] Id.
[6] Id at 26.
[7] Id at 27.
[8] Id at 30.
[9] Id at 58.
[10] Id.
[11] Id at 59.
[12] Id at 229.
[13] Wash. State Dep’t of Lab. & Indus., Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Survey and Jurisdictional Review: 2025 Report to the Legislature, (June 2025), https://www.lni.wa.gov/agency/_docs/2025PTSDsurveyJurisdictionalReviewReport.pdf.
[14] Id at 8.
[15] Id.