SW Washington Logger Convicted of Benefit Theft
A southwest Washington logger must serve 60 days home detention and repay more than $163,000 after he admitted stealing workers’ comp benefits from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I), which administers the state workers’ comp system, from January 2018 to January 2020. James Thomasson claimed injuries from working in the woods led to disabilities that affected his ability to work, and a medical provider said he was eligible for lost wages payments. However, after receiving a tip, L&I investigators caught Thomasson performing multiple activities that were inconsistent with his medical restrictions including walking briskly uphill, lifting heavy tools over his head and dancing. Upon reassessment, the provider noted he had “engaged in well-executed intentional underperformance” of his abilities, which led to the second-degree theft plea.
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Beginnings
Way back in the 1940s my father was a local kid with smarts. Born into a farming family in Butler County, Ala., he grew up loving his family, the land, animals and hunting and fishing. He was even working his way into the timber industry: The folks running W.T. Smith Lumber in Chapman gave him a summer job learning to cruise and mark timber, and he planned to attend Auburn University and go into forestry…
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