Category: Caselaw Update

June 2, 2023
by Christina Joseph

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…

November 23, 2022
by Erling Hanna

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,…

November 9, 2022
by Christine Olson

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…

September 28, 2022
by Kara Cogswell Kidder

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…

September 21, 2022
by Kevin Anderson

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…

August 17, 2022
by Matthew Baker

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…

July 27, 2022
by Stephen Verotsky

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…

June 29, 2022
by Anna McFaul

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….

June 8, 2022
by Michael Godfrey

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 &…

May 25, 2022
by Andrew Evenson

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…

May 18, 2022
by Kara Cogswell Kidder

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…

April 21, 2022
by Rebecca Watkins

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…

April 13, 2022
by Matthew Baker

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…

March 30, 2022
by Megan Vaniman

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…

February 9, 2022
by Anna McFaul

Is an Off-Premises Exercise Injury Compensable When Participating in an Employer Wellness Program?

In the recent Watt case, the Oregon Court of Appeals considered compensability of a claim where the worker was exercising off premises as part of…

January 12, 2022
by Evan Novotny

Oregon Court of Appeals issues another decision scrutinizing combined condition defenses

We often discuss combined condition acceptances and denials as useful claim processing tools, particularly in closing a claim which may otherwise be difficult to close,…

December 22, 2021
by Kevin Anderson

Oregon Course and Scope Cases Focusing on Where Injury Occurred

In two recent cases, the Oregon Court of Appeals found two off-premises injuries compensable. Charles Davis v SAIF, 316 Or App 301 (2021); Lahna Lynn…

December 15, 2021
by Elizabeth Aaberg

Washington Supreme Court Issues Ruling on WISHA Violations for Staffing Agencies

In the recent Tradesman case, the Washington Supreme Court addressed whether in the joint employer context, staffing agencies may be liable employers for safety violations…

November 24, 2021
by David White

Washington Court of Appeals Issues Decision Restricting Type of Evidence to Rebut Firefighters’ Presumption

In a recently published decision, Bradley v. City of Olympia, the Washington Court of Appeals clarified the type of evidence an employer or the Department…

June 30, 2021
by Hannah Teig

On remand from the Supreme Court, Oregon’s Workers’ Compensation Board issues decision addressing whether a referral for a noncompensable condition must be covered under a claim

Courts have made clear that pursuant to ORS 656.245(1), employers are required to pay for “medical services for conditions caused in material part by the…

November 11, 2020
by David White

Oregon Court of Appeals Expands on Supreme Court’s Holding in Caren in Robinette v. SAIF

Last year, in Caren v. Providence Health System Oregon the Oregon Supreme Court held that without a preclosure combined condition denial employers must pay the…

October 28, 2020
by Hannah Teig

Court of Appeals reconsiders Meyers v. SAIF in light of the Supreme Court’s opinion in Gadalean

Meyers v. SAIF has been a long time coming– the case has been on appeal since 2013, traveling all the way up to the Oregon…

October 7, 2020
by Christine Olson

Washington Court of Appeals opinion serves as a strong reminder to double check filing requirements for appealing BIIA orders

On September 8, 2020, the Washington Court of Appeals published a decision that serves as a reminder of the importance of double checking state and…

September 2, 2020
by Sarah Cohen

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Hanford Presumption Law

On August 19, 2020, the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion finding Washington was not in violation of federal law when it implemented HB 1723, also…

August 19, 2020
by Kevin Anderson

Oregon Court of Appeals Clarifies Occupational Disease Standard

In a recent decision, the Court of Appeals clarified a worker’s burden of proof in an occupational disease claim. Johnston v. Gordon Trucking – Heartland…