Category: Caselaw Update
OREGON: “Exclusive Remedy” win for employers/administrators/insurers at Oregon Court of Appeals
On April 10, 2024, the Oregon Court of Appeals issued a ruling reiterating the importance of the exclusive remedy clause under ORS 656.018. The case,…
Oregon Board finds “going and coming” rule does not apply to worker crossing street to retrieve work clothes from her vehicle
A recent Oregon Workers’ Compensation Board case, In re Cambria Souza, 76 Van Natta 130 (2024), found a workers’ injury compensable where they were hurt…
Navigating the Pitfalls of Oregon Workers’ Compensation. The Ins and Outs of Injury under a Combined Condition.
We are all familiar with the idea of a “compensable injury” in Oregon workers’ compensation law. A compensable injury is any injury sustained while performing…
Washington Significant Vocational Board Decisions
Two significant decisions regarding the vocational process were recently determined by the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals. In re Michael Killpatrick BIIA Dec., 21 13384…
Ordered to accept a new/omitted condition in Oregon? Combined condition processing remains a responsive option
On January 9, 2024, the Workers’ Compensation Board ruled in Maria F. Opferman, 76 Van Natta 10 (2024), that the employer’s post-litigation acceptance of a…
New Washington case provides limitations to Maphet
For self-insured employers in Washington, one of the most significant decisions in recent years was the Washington Court of Appeals’ 2019 opinion in Clark County…
Flare-Ups, Aggravation, and Combined Conditions: When is Arthritis Compensable in Oregon workers’ compensation?
If a worker with longstanding cervical arthritis injures her neck while lifting a box at work, can the arthritis itself be a compensable condition under…
Can a denial in Oregon based on an independent record review trigger entitlement to WRME?
Recently, the Oregon Workers’ Compensation Board confirmed that entitlement to a worker requested medical examination (WRME) is only triggered when the employer’s denial is based…
What evidence is necessary to support a ceases denial in Oregon?
ORS 656.262(6)(c) authorizes an administrator to deny an accepted combined condition if the compensable injury ceases to be the major contributing cause of the combined…
Acute Stomach Pain and the Sheepherder–Oregon Court of Appeals issues decision on course and scope
The Oregon Court of Appeals issued a non-precedential memorandum opinion on an interesting case recently involving a worker who experienced an acute medical condition, a…
Oregon Court of Appeals Rejects Claimant Argument to Expand Meaning of “Compensable Injury” for Purposes of Assigning Permanent Impairment
On June 7, 2023, the Oregon Court of Appeals issued its Opinion on Gramada v. SAIF, refusing to expand the meaning of the term “compensable…
There’s a fee for that! The Oregon Court of Appeals authorized the award of attorney fees incurred while litigating the reasonableness of an attorney fee award.
In the case of Peabody v. SAIF, 326 Or App 132 (2023), the Oregon Court of Appeals addressed appeals brought by Ms. Peabody regarding entitlement…
Complexities with CRPS as a new/omitted condition, and positioning to win the battle in Oregon Workers’ Compensation
The cause of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is not well understood. It is a form of chronic pain, usually affecting an arm or leg,…
Washington’s Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals Limits Workers’ Ability to Add Occupational Disease Conditions to Industrial Injury Claims in Tentatively Significant Decision
In some Washington workers’ compensation cases, a significant hurdle can be determining whether a condition in a worker’s claim resulted from an industrial injury or…
Washington Court of Appeals Issues New Decision Which Defines Reasonable Accommodations of Religious Beliefs – and Raises New Questions For Employers
The Washington Court of Appeals, Division 3, issued a decision on September 20, 2022 defining for the first time what is a “reasonable accommodation” of…
Chronic Condition Award Does Not Automatically Result in Work Disability in Oregon
The Oregon Workers’ Compensation Board recently issued a helpful decision when it comes to determining permanent work restrictions and dealing with the reconsideration proceeding. Richard…
When can time loss payments cease in Oregon?
Time-loss payments, penalties, and ambiguous medical opinions are hallmarks of the workers’ compensation system. The Oregon Workers’ Compensation Board recently released an opinion implicating all…
Oregon Workers’ Compensation Board Signals That Providing Duplicative Discovery May Result in Penalties/Attorney Fees
In Serge Alexandre, 74 Van Natta 410 (June 1, 2022), SAIF requested review of an order that awarded a penalty and penalty-related attorney fee for…
Who is the attending provider? New Oregon Court of Appeals case provides some insight.
In Oregon, when a worker is treating with multiple providers it can be difficult to identify the attending provider is for purposes of claim closure….
Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals Makes In Re Kathleen Houlihan a Significant Decision
On April 29, 2022, the Washington Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals published its new “Significant Decisions” from 2021. The Board issues hundreds of Decisions &…
Oregon WCB Issues Troubling Decision Regarding New/Omitted Claim Processing Obligations
The Oregon Workers’ Compensation Board recently issued a troubling decision in Luis F. Nava, 74 Van Natta 372 (2022), which impacts how it finds employers/insurers/administrators…
Ninth Circuit Agrees Temporary Impairments Can Be Disabilities Under ADA
A recent decision by the Ninth Circuit confirms that temporary medical conditions can qualify as disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The outcome…
Partial Denial does not Allow Apportionment of Impairment at Claim Closure in Oregon
On April 21, 2022, the Oregon Supreme Court issued its decision in Johnson v. SAIF Corporation, 369 Or 577 (2022). Johnson caught her hand in…
Oregon Supreme Court Affirms Narrow Construction of Exemption To Subject Worker Statute
Employee or contractor? The classification of a worker can impact what benefits a worker is entitled to, and the trucking industry has often been at…
Oregon Court of Appeals determines injury during paid break is not compensable
Are we seeing a shift in the Court of Appeals in relation to injuries during paid breaks? Recently, in Watt v. SAIF, the Court of…
