Category: Changes in WC law

April 23, 2025
by Joe Urbanski

WA BIIA 2024 Significant Decisions

Every year the Washington Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals designates several notable decisions each year as significant. A significant decision is one which the Board…

March 20, 2025
by Dee Akinbosade

Oregon Assessed Attorney Fees – The Vicious Circle

The Oregon’s Workers Compensation Board (“WCB”) recently issued an Order on Remand, awarding $68,300 for services litigating reasonableness of an initial attorney fee award. Karista…

March 6, 2025
by Courtney Kreutz

Oregon Vocational Assistance – Authorization to Work in the US is No Longer a Requirement for Eligibility

An injured worker must meet certain conditions to be eligible for vocational assistance, typically the costliest aspect of a workers’ compensation claim. OAR 436-120-0145(2) lays…

February 27, 2025
by Christina Joseph

Oregon WCB Confirms, No Compensable Claim: No Rule Violation, No Unreasonable Delay

In a recent legal decision, Rosita E. Peery, 77 Van Natta 15 (January 10, 2025), the Oregon Workers’ Compensation Board affirmed an Administrative Law Judge’s…

February 19, 2025
by Matthew Baker

Oregon WCB Confirms Initial Notice of Acceptance Does Not Set a “Theory of the Case”

What is the difference between an injury, a claim, and an accepted condition? The answer, frustratingly, is “it depends.” But the Oregon Workers’ Compensation Board…

February 5, 2025
by Hannah Teig

New Medical Services Rules Proposed by the OR WCD

On February 19, 2025, the WCD is holding a hearing to propose amendments to several medical services rules in OAR 436-009, 436-010, and 436-015. Many…

January 29, 2025
by Madeline Mahugh

Washington Department of Labor & Industries Listening Sessions Signal Changes to Claim Process

On January 7 and 23, 2025 the Department held two listening sessions open to attendance by members of the self-insured community regarding The Claims Process…

November 26, 2024
by Laurel Hensley

Important Changes to Oregon IME Appointment Notices in Effect as of October 1, 2024

Have you updated the bold language and formatting in your Oregon IME appointment notice template? In case you missed it, the Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division…

November 20, 2024
by Kara Cogswell Kidder

Washington L&I Expands Coverage for Acupuncture Treatment

The Washington Department of Labor & Industries recently adopted a new policy approving acupuncture as a covered treatment for chronic migraine when accepted under a…

November 14, 2024
by Andrew Evenson

New denial appeal and hearing rights language requirements in Oregon Workers’ Compensation

As a reminder, the Oregon Workers’ Compensation Board recently revised Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR) 438-005-0055 to reflect changes to the required denial and hearing rights…

September 11, 2024
by Anna McFaul

Oregon Workers’ Compensation Rules change attorney fee caps in settlement and changes to mandatory denial language.

Previously, OAR 438-015-0050(1) and OAR 438-015-0052(1) allowed a workers’ attorney to receive up to 25% of the first $50,000 of DCS and CDA proceeds and…

July 16, 2024
by Courtney Kreutz

New Oregon Rule Governing Subsequent Temporary Disability Payments Beginning July 1, 2024

On July 15, 2024, the Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division issued an Industry Notice outlining the rule change for the payment of subsequent temporary disability benefits….

April 30, 2024
by Kevin Anderson

Surgery in Oregon? Here’s What to Know

The Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division recently added some new deadlines to be aware of when dealing with surgery requests in the MCO context. You can…

March 18, 2024
by Katerina Wolfe

New Rules Impacting MCO Enrolled Claims in Oregon – Effective April 1, 2024 and October 1, 2024

The Department of Consumer and Business Services Workers’ Compensation Division amended several provisions of the OAR that will directly impact MCO enrolled claims in Oregon….

November 15, 2023
by Sara Densmore

Have you or someone you know been negatively affected by the new Washington IME rules? Get help here!

The new Washington Independent Medical Exam (IME) recording and co-recording rules have made obtaining an IME even more difficult than when they were limited by…

October 25, 2023
by Kevin Anderson

Reminder – Oregon Legislative Changes Starting January 1, 2024

As we approach the end of the year, it is important to remember that there are some big changes coming to Oregon workers’ compensation claim…

October 17, 2023
by Christine Olson

All Washington Self-Insured Employers Should Be Aware of (And Attend if Possible) the Department of Labor & Industries “Listening Sessions” Regarding the Newly Enacted “Bad Faith” Laws

The Washington legislature passed one of two pieces of legislation that creates new duties and standards for some self-insured employers. Substitute House Bill 1521 is…

October 11, 2023
by Elyse Waters

The Oregon Legislature has been busy this year!

You have probably heard about House Bill 3471 which changed the way defense counsel and adjusters settle workers’ compensation claims, specifically with regard to employment…

June 27, 2023
by Matthew Baker

Oregon Legislative Roundup

There was slightly more drama to the 2023 Oregon legislative session than in a typical year, but the session came to a close on June…

May 22, 2023
by Erling Hanna

Changes coming to retroactive temporary disability authorizations in Oregon

In our prior blog post, here, we discussed the changes coming under House Bill 4138, as it relates to claim closure and overpayment issues. We…

May 5, 2023
by Kevin Anderson

New Claim Closure and Overpayment Rules in Oregon Starting January 1, 2024

As we have touched on before, there will be some major changes next year to how we process claims, particularly when it comes to claim…

January 25, 2023
by Megan Vaniman

Proposed Oregon bill to disallow no-rehire provisions in workers’ compensation settlements

AFL-CIO (a conglomerate of union groups) has proposed legislation to prohibit no re-hire/reemployment/reinstatement clauses in workers’ compensation settlements. Specifically, the proposed legislation would only allow…

December 22, 2022
by Evan Novotny

Permanent Rule Changes Coming to Oregon Workers’ Compensation!

There are new and significant rule changes to Oregon Workers Compensation. These will affect the way workers’ compensation benefits are paid and calculated.  Additionally, notable…

November 30, 2022
by Rachel Shinville

Washington L&I Proposed Changes to Presumptive Coverage of PTSD as an Occupational Disease – Feedback Due by January 13

On November 22, 2022, the Department of Labor & Industries filed a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking to amend WAC 296-14-300 to clarify coverage of…

November 16, 2022
by Stephen Verotsky

New Assessed Attorney Fee Rules For Reconsideration Proceedings in Oregon

In September 2021 the Oregon Court of Appeals issued its decision in Dancingbear v. SAIF and determined a worker’s attorney can be awarded an assessed…