L&I won’t be swayed by barroom brawler’s comp claim

The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries will cover workplace injuries, but not if a worker gets in a bar fight and then sends a text to a friend along with a photo of his bandaged hand: “Now L&I will cover it.”

A Yelm, Washington, man working for a bathroom products manufacturing company won’t be drinking to that anytime soon, according to the department, which announced Friday that Chuck Wayne Riccio is now facing a felony theft charge after the department, investigating his claim that he hurt his hand working with shower parts, found that wasn’t the case.

Mr. Riccio claimed he injured his hand in mid-October 2018 at work, but a friend tipped off investigators of the August 2018 barroom brawl.

“The person provided text messages that Riccio sent from a clinic about the same time he filed the L&I claim,” according to a statement. “He texted that his hand still hurt from the fight, but that he told the clinic ‘I kinda said it happened at work.’”