Dont ComplyProPublica: DOE Has Filed 500+ Appeals Against Hanford Workers' Compensation Claims Despite Washington Presumption Law
ProPublica and Cascade PBS report that the U.S. Department of Energy has appealed hundreds of state-approved workers' compensation claims from sick Hanford workers and spent nearly $12 million on outside lawyers and experts.
According to reporting by ProPublica and Cascade PBS, the Department of Energy has filed more than 500 appeals since Washington's 2018 law presumed certain illnesses in Hanford workers were job-related. State data cited by the outlets show that, since 2023, workers filed 102 new claims and the DOE recommended approving none. The state approved 75% of them, and the DOE appealed all but seven approvals. About 152 approved claims remain under appeal, and half of those workers are dead. The reporters say the DOE paid its law firm nearly $10 million between 2018 and 2025, plus expert witness fees. A DOE spokesperson said the department follows all applicable local, state and federal laws and has a long record of protecting human health and the environment. The department did not answer detailed questions. State labor regulators said they met twice with DOE staff and are assessing the patterns.
Why it matters
The reporting raises questions about whether a federal agency is using litigation to delay benefits the state has approved for sick nuclear cleanup workers and their survivors. The DOE has the legal right to appeal, and state appeals data show it has mostly lost.
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