Stafford v. Department of Labor & Industries

This is a review of an order of the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals (Board) affirming the Department of Labor and Industries' (Department) denial of benefits sought under RCW 7.68, hereafter referred to as the crime victims compensation act (CVC). The Superior Court affirmed the Board's order. The central issue is whether the Board erred in requiring the claimant to prove that the victim of a criminal act was also innocent. We also affirm.

In the early morning hours of November 28, 1974, Wilford Davis entered the lobby of the Peerless Hotel in Oroville and, in the course of a shoot-out,…