It depends - the first deadline is usually 1 year from the injury to file a Washington workers' comp claim, and if L&I says you were an independent contractor, you may still have 3 years to bring a third-party injury case.

For a Yakima app-delivery crash, L&I coverage turns on whether you were legally an employee, not what the app company called you.

The proof that matters most is control. L&I and courts look at who controlled the work, not just the contract language on your phone. Save evidence showing the company or local contractor told you when to work, where to go, what route or delivery sequence to follow, what to wear, what vehicle standards applied, and whether you could reject jobs without punishment.

Key evidence includes:

• The app contract, onboarding emails, pay terms, deactivation threats, and policy updates
• Screenshots showing you were active on a delivery, on the clock, and following assigned pickups or drop-offs
• Text messages or in-app messages from dispatch, support, or a fleet manager
• Trip logs, GPS history, timestamps, and earnings records
• Crash report from Yakima Police or Washington State Patrol
• Medical records that tie the injury to the crash date and location
• Witness names, especially if it happened near a Yakima school zone, bus stop, or heavy back-to-school traffic area

If another driver, a school-district vehicle, a road contractor, or a commercial truck caused the crash, that is usually a third-party claim separate from workers' comp. L&I does not replace that claim.

File the workers' comp application with the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries if there is any real argument you were an employee. If L&I denies it, the denial letter, your work-status records, and the company's control over your deliveries become the core proof on appeal.

If your "employer" told you gig drivers can never qualify, that is not the legal test in Washington. The legal test is the work relationship they created, day to day.