This bill reenacts and amends RCW 51.36.070 to create a regulatory framework authorizing injured workers to record audio, video, or both of department-ordered or BIIA-ordered medical examinations (also referencing RCW 51.32.110). The right to record is limited to use of a department-approved, application-based, third-party recording platform; independent recording is prohibited. The worker or the worker’s representative must notify the entity scheduling the examination at least seven calendar days before the exam. The bill establishes procedural and technical requirements for the approved platform: it must allow the worker (or, at the worker’s request, the examining provider) to initiate recording, ensure accurate continuous audio and video capture without interfering with the exam, and automatically upload recordings to the vendor’s secure digital storage. All recordings must be stored only on the vendor’s secure server; no party may retain, download, copy, or distribute recordings except as authorized by department rules. Recordings are confidential under RCW 51.28.070, vendors must provide secure access per department rules, and unauthorized alteration, duplication, private storage, distribution, or public posting can trigger repayment or other penalties under RCW 51.32.240 and a $1,000 civil penalty. Costs for the recording platform and retention are treated as part of the costs of the claim. Additional provisions require that the worker may have one noninterfering observer who is at least 18 and is not the worker’s legal representative or attending provider (or their employee). The third-party vendor must meet minimum cybersecurity standards (including encryption, multifactor authentication, and state IT requirements). Recordings must be retained on the vendor’s platform for the life of the claim and for no fewer than 10 years after final closure or litigation, and the department must adopt rules for storage, transfers, and protection if a vendor changes. The act takes effect July 1, 2027, and applies prospectively to all claims regardless of date of injury. The text defines “examination” and “reasonably convenient.” The bill delegates multiple specifics to department rulemaking; the approval process for vendors, detailed cybersecurity standards, enforcement procedures for the civil penalty, the mechanics of repayment under RCW 51.32.240, and a definition of “life of the claim” are not provided in the extracted text.

If enacted, injured workers will be able to make audio and video recordings of medical exams ordered by the department or appeals board, but only through a department-approved third‑party app that automatically stores the recording on the vendor’s secure servers; workers must tell the scheduler at least seven days ahead and may bring one nonlawyer observer. That will give workers a clear way to preserve exam evidence, while providers and employers will no longer be able to keep or independently copy recordings; unauthorized copying or sharing can trigger a $1,000 penalty and other remedies. The department, self‑insurers, employers, and third‑party vendors will face new responsibilities and likely costs: the platform and long-term storage costs are charged to the workers’ claim (with the director able to allocate costs to a self‑insurer or the medical aid fund), vendors must meet state cybersecurity and approval standards, and recordings must be retained for the life of the claim and for at least ten years after final closure. Key operational details—how the department approves vendors, exact cybersecurity rules, who exactly may access recordings and under what process, and what “life of the claim” precisely means—are left to department rulemaking, so implementation and enforcement procedures remain unclear.