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Frank Hejna
I was a client of Wayne
Williams for several years, and then in November of 2004, the Department, out
of the blue, issued an order saying I was not entitled to time loss for the
last two years and demanded I repay them almost $89,000. All of this started
because I had been growing a bit of marijuana to use to treat my back pain.
This resulted in an allegation that I was selling marijuana and making so much
money that it amounted to having returned to work.
Wayne Williams filed
an appeal to the Department’s order, and there were a series of lengthy
hearings and many witnesses testified. In the meantime, the Department had
handed the matter over to the Thurston County Prosecutor, and I entered into a
plea agreement to an allegation that I had misrepresented my situation and
unlawfully obtained payments. I did this, because I couldn’t really afford
a defense. However, the agreement said that if the Board of Industrial
Insurance Appeals determined that if I did not owe the Department any money,
then the plea agreement would be set aside.
I won at the Board of
Industrial Insurance Appeals, and when the Department appealed to the Superior
Court, Wayne got their appeal dismissed. Then, he found me a criminal attorney
in Olympia, who represented me when the Prosecutor refused to set aside the
sentence.
Ultimately, the sentence was set aside. I owed nothing to the
Department of Labor and Industries, was not convicted of misrepresenting my
status to the Department, and Mr. Williams continued to represent me until he
got me placed on a permanent pension.
I think anyone would agree that
Mr. Williams went beyond what you would normally expect a lawyer to do, and
helped me get out of a very sticky situation. Mr. Williams and his firm went
way beyond the call of duty for me and I will always be grateful to him and his
firm.
John & Cindy Lewis
We were completely satisfied
with the hard work & attention to detail that we received from Doug &
his team. Our case was not your routine injury claim, Doug embraced it & us
from the start knowing that this was going to be a difficult case to resolve.
Doug & his team were always prepared or one step ahead of the opposition
& as a result we prevailed in our case & made caselaw history on the
way. Now everyone that comes next can refer to our case as precedent .I would
retain the services of WWO law firm again & recommend them to anyone. They
are a honest, personable, ethical, decent law firm that cares about their
clients.
Joey Hancock
About fifteen years ago, after some early go-rounds with
the Department, I realized I was going to need an attorney. For the last
fifteen years, Mr. Williams has had to battle with the Department to keep my
claim open, assist in vocational services, get me the treatment being
recommended, and keep the Department from jerking me around. He has done just
that.
Sondra Nipper
I came to Mr. Williams with a particularly unique and
challenging case. Even though I had let some crucial dates pass by, Mr.
Williams was willing to take on my case. He was efficient and thorough,
handling difficult problems without me ever having to step into the courtroom.
Mr. Williams was able to secure for me full state benefits. I couldn’t
have asked for a better outcome.
Andrew Clarke Keys
In December 2003, both of my
arms and wrists began hurting to such an extent that I could no longer work. I
filed a worker's compensation claim, and my self-insured employer denied it.
I went through the Department of Labor and Industries' process and
finally, in 2005, I hired Wayne Williams to represent me. He took my case to
the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals and, in February of 2005, the Board
directed the self-insured employer to treat my bilateral carpal tunnel
syndrome, as well as the degenerative arthritis in each of my thumbs and
wrists, as occupational diseases.
Then, the self-insured employer
refused to pay me time loss compensation. Mr. Williams kept after the
self-insured employer, and the Department directed the self-insured employer to
pay penalties on several occasions. Mr. Williams went to the Board again, and
the Board directed the self-insured employer to pay time loss.
Finally,
in May 2008, Mr. Williams got the Department to place me on the pension rolls.
Then the self-insured employer appealed the Pension Order. Mr. Williams
defended me, and we prevailed. I went from having a totally rejected claim, to
having my claim accepted, my conditions treated, time loss paid to me for five
years, and then ended up being placed on the pension rolls.
I would
recommend Mr. Williams for you. I would also recommend Mr. Williams' wonderful
office staff, who helped me on many occasions and always treated me well.
Sylvia Pugsley
I am writing this letter for one reason only,I am a strong advocate
for the injured worker in the state of Washington! Why? Because any state run
institution has only one thing on their minds and that's their bottom line of
monies paid to injured workers! With your best interest in mind, I have written
the following:
When I was
twenty-eight I was seriously injured and could no longer work. This left me
without a job and on Workman's Compensation. At first all seemed to be going
well until one month I received no income. They did not notify me about any
changes just that I was denied further coverage. This happened four or five
times sometimes lasting weeks and some lasting months. This left me homeless
and I couldn't even feed my family which left me no choice but to stand in
bread lines and go on food stamps! I am not so proud that I refused their
assistance but I knew it was wrong for the Labor and Industry board to continue
to cut me off every time they "felt" like it. I had enough of that and sought
the help of an attorney!
If you get
anything from this testimony I hope You will walk away with the knowledge that
as an injured worker you have rights! Now you may ask, where do I find justice
for me and my family...a good and caring lawyer! When Wayne took me as a
client, I did not have to pay any up front costs, which as many of you know we
don't have as an injured worker. It is my hope that you will look in the right
direction...I found a firm called Williams, Wyckoff and Ostrander and to this
day I have never regretted that phone call! Trust me when I say, you won't
regret that decision, not for one minute.
I have never met a more down to earth, caring man such as Wayne, I
still feel honored to know him. After our initial interview, he said he would
look over my case and call me if he could help, at first I was apprehensive ,I
didn't know if he would take my case. That only lasted one day and he called to
tell me that he would indeed take my case! We have had a few hurdles to climb
but Wayne was relentless in his pushing and prodding for true justice for me. I
wasn't referred to Wayne, I actually found him in the yellow pages of the phone
book! The law firm of Wayne Williams, Wyckoff and Ostrander has proven to me,
their dedication and loyalty to their client. Example of this is, I moved to
Montana and when my case came before a review board of Workman's Comp. Lawyers,
I was scared to death. Of course, because of my past history with Washington
Labor and Industries. I couldn't loose my benefits again! My attorney, Wayne
Williams actually flew to Billings, Montana to be at my side during this latest
pressure from lawyers! Think about that for a second...how many lawyers do you
know that would go out of their way to do this? He has stayed by my side in
every aspect of my case. Today, I am still a winner but I couldn't have done it
without the care and dedication of Wayne and my advocate Shawna Winters. They
have been my attorneys of choice for over twenty-five years, but much more
important they are my choice for life! Even though I am on a pension now, which
means they can never cut me off again, They still fight for my rights and when
something the state is doing wrong ,the law firm of Wayne Williams ,Wyckoff and
Ostrander will respond immediately and resolve the issues. I really don't think
of them as my attorneys, I consider them as family who is always looking out
for me!
Many injured workers do not
fully understand the power that the state of Washington has. If you are an
injured worker, it is my plea to you to at least talk to Wayne and associates,
it will save you heartache, uncertainty and the knowledge you have in finding
and keeping an awesome lawyer such as Wayne Williams and his dedicated staff.
So my advice to many of you who live in Washington state and are an injured
worker, fight for your rights but have Wayne and associates by your side and
from experience, I can tell you there are none better,
May the Lord be with you as you struggle with your
injury and I pray for your speedy recovery and last but most important, contact
Wayne Williams at Williams, Wyckoff and Ostrander today for a better more peace
of mind tomorrow. |
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