Accidents and Injuries

The District is dedicated to providing a safe and healthful work environment for all employees and strives for prevention of work related injuries. Should a work injury occur, the District has developed a work injury process that includes a team approach to assist employees with prompt, quality medical treatment and a safe and successful return to work. 

Upon a return to work from an extended medical related leave, an employee is to complete a Return-to-Work Review form and submit it to the HR Leave and Accommodations Analyst or PSD Work Injury.

You may choose your own Medical Provider for initial treatment of your work injury. However, follow-up and on-going treatment for your work injury must be from an approved Labor & Industries (L & I) Occupational Medical Provider.

To assist employees with convenient and quality medical treatment options, below is a list of L & I approved Occupational Medical Providers in the Puyallup/Tacoma area that have been identified and have partnered with the District. These Providers are designated as Centers for Occupational Health and Education (COHE) which provide integrated and managed "best practices" care.

Concentra (Formely US HealthWorks Medical Group)
3850 S Meridian St, Suite 10
Puyallup, WA  98373
Ph: (253) 840-1840
Open 7 days/week
Urgent Care available 

Concentra (Formely US HealthWorks Medical Group)
3850 S Meridian St, Suite 10
Puyallup, WA  98373
Ph: (253) 840-1840
Open 7 days/week
Urgent Care available 

CHI Franciscan Health Systems
Occupational Health
15214 Canyon Road E
Puyallup, WA  98375
Ph: (253) 272-6677
Prompt Care Clinic available

MultiCare
Occupational Medicine
1450 5 St. SE, Suite 1500Puyallup, WA  98372
Urgent Care Clinic available
Ph: (888) 280-5513
           
Kaiser Permanente
Occupational Health
9505 S. Steele St. Tacoma, WA  98444
Ph: (253) 680-6700
Urgent Care Clinic available

In addition to those listed above, you may find other L & I approved Providers by visiting the L&I Medical Provider Network.    If needed, you may contact PSD Work Injury for further assistance. 

Please see the following required forms for claim processing:  

Activity Prescription Form (APF)

Puget Sound Workers' Compensation Trust considers the effective use of the Activity Prescription Form (APF) as a best practice in occupational medicine. The form communicates an injured worker's physical restrictions and ability to work as well as the provider's treatment plans. In addition, workers' time-loss benefits depend on the APF and your chart notes.

Provider's Initial Report (PIR)

A Provider’s Initial Report (PIR) is completed by the Provider and the Employee and establishes a claim. When the completed PIR is received by the HR/Return to Work Coordinator or Puget Sound Workers' Trust the PIR will be matched with your claim number.

If you have not yet filed a claim, please call the Nurse Triage Line at 833-928-6877.

Time Loss Election Form

Employees who are injured on the job and will be off work for more than three days following the date of injury, may be eligible to supplement their time-loss benefits with sick, personal, vacation, comp or an other similar leave accrual benefit. If an employee is found eligible for time loss payments, the employee has a choice on how they wish to supplement the time loss payments. The required Time Loss Election Form or Time Loss Election Form PEA/PESPA should be completed at the time of filing a  claim. Please print this form and visit our Employee - Work Injury and Compensation FAQ page for a further definition of supplemental options. 

Please see the following form to be completed by an employee returning from an extended medical-related leave:
 

Return to Work Review Form

To enable the District to adequately support an employee’s safe return to work after a medical-related leave, the returning employee will be required to complete a Return to Work Review form.  The form is to be submitted to either the HR Leave and Accommodations Analyst or HR Return to Work Coordinator prior to return work in order to allow review, any needed approvals and communication of necessary information to the employee’s supervisor. 

 
If you have questions regarding forms, please contact PSD Work Injury for further assistance.

Q. If I want to reserve my paid leave accrual while off work, do I have this option? 
A. Yes, the only time an employee has an option in reserving sick leave during an illness or recovery, is during a work injury recovery. All employees who wish to reserve leave accrual, should complete a time loss election form and choose option #1. This will stop the your sick leave and revert to unpaid time while you continue your recovery.   

Q. Do I have the option to use part of my leave accrual and receive time loss payments? 
A.  Yes, if your claim is approved and you receive time loss payments from Puget Sound Workers' Trust, you may choose to participate in our sick leave buy back process. The District will receive a copy of your time loss payments and calculate a value that will determine the amount of sick leave you may buy back. We will then deduct this amount from  your next available paycheck and reimburse your sick leave balance. All employees who wish to use this option, should complete a time loss election form and choose option #2. Note: If you are a PEA or PESPA member and have been approved to receive leave share donations this option is not valid and does not apply. Please complete the PEA/PESPA time loss election form for your available options. 
 

Q. Do I have the option to use all of my leave accrual while receiving time loss payments?  
A. Yes, employees may elect to use all leave accrual such as sick leave, personal leave and/or vacation while off work. In addition to your paycheck from the District you may also receive time loss payments from Puget Sound Workers' Trust. The District will apply all available leave to missed days from work, until all leave accrual is exhausted. All employees who wish to use their leave accrual AND receive time loss payments should complete the time loss election form and choose option #3.


Q. Am I eligible for Shared Leave while off work due to a work-related injury?
A: If you are a PEA or PESPA member, there is a provision in your collective bargaining agreement that provides you the ability to participate in the Shared Leave Program while you are off work due to a work-related injury. You must exhaust all available leave accrual before receiving leave share donations. Donated leave will be applied using a calculation to determine the difference between Time Loss Benefits and your usual full compensation from the District. If you are not a PEA or PESPA member the Shared Leave option is not available.  

Q. If Puget Sound Workers' Trust requires me to attend an Independent Medical Exam, am I required to use my sick leave?

A. No, If you have been asked to attend an Independent Medical Exam by Puget Sound Workers' Trust, please notify the PSD Work Injury with notification of this appointment. The District will not charge your sick leave for time away for this purpose.


Q. If I am cleared by my doctor to return to work, but I have work restrictions, what should I do?
A. If you have been cleared by your doctor to return to work with restrictions, you should be in immediate contact with PSD Work Injury to set up a meeting and discuss return to work options.
 

Q.  If I am injured by a student resulting in an accepted work injury claim, am I eligible for additional assistance outside the benefits I may be eligible to receive from the Puget Sound Workers Compensation Trust?
A.  Certain employee groups are covered by a CBA provision that provides for some District reimbursement to employees injured by students for out of pocket expenses related to their work injury.  If you believe you have experienced such a work injury, have an accepted work injury claim with the Puget Sound Workers Compensation Trust and are covered under a CBA with the District reimbursement provision, contact the PSD Work Injury.

Please also visit the FAQ: Worker Compensation Claims – WCT (pswctup.org) for additional questions and answers regarding work injury claims. 

Accidents and injuries that occur at work, during your work hours, must be reported immediately to your direct supervisor, your school building administrator (if applicable, and different from your direct supervisor), and Puget Sound Workers' Compensation Trust.  Puget Sound Workers’ Compensation Trust is the third-party administrator who manages the district’s employee accident reports and work injury claims.

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Puget Sound Workers' Compensation Trust is here to help.

• Report the incident to your supervisor and call the Nurse Triage Helpline at 833-WCT-NURS (833-928-6877)
• In the event of a life-threatening injury, call 911.
• If you indicated that you have sought or intend to seek medical care, a claim for workers' compensation benefits will be established for you.  You will hear from PSWCT within 3 business days.

If you have questions, contact:
Puget Sound Worker's Compensation Trust
800 Oakesdale Ave SW
Renton, WA  98057
www.pswct.org
email: pswct@psesd.org

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Whether you choose to seek medical treatment for an injury or not, you are required to call the Nurse Triage Line at 833-928-6877 to submit an accident report. Once your report is submitted, it will be sent to your supervisor for review and investigation of the incident or accident.

If you are unable to work due to your work injury, or need accommodations, contact PSD Work Injury - workinjury@puyallupsd.org
immediately to discuss your status and next steps.  

If you are not able to work, you are required to complete a time loss election form, which must be submitted electronically to PSD Work Injury and Payroll within 7 days of injury date.  If you are a PEA or PESPA member, you will complete this time loss election form. If you have questions about your options, please visit our FAQ page or contact PSD Work Injury. All completed forms can be scanned and emailed to workinjury@puyallup.k12.wa.us.  

NOTE: You may choose your own doctor/medical provider for your first treatment visit. However, ongoing treatment of your injury must be from a State approved Occupational Medical Provider.

If you have general questions regarding workers' compensation benefits, please read A Guide to Workers' Compensation and Benefits. For specific claim questions after filing, please contact your claims adjustor with Puget Sound Workers' Compensation Trust at 253-778-7667.