Category: Oregon Workers Compensation

November 1, 2024
by Dee Akinbosade

Stress of Navigating Oregon Workers’ Compensation: Possible Ground for Mental Health Condition?

Filing an Oregon Workers’ Compensation claim includes a range of administrative processes, from injury reports to claim closure, encompassing medical treatment, independent medical evaluations, entitlement…

October 29, 2024
by Kevin Anderson

Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division Reviewing Medical Service and Billing Rules Nov. 5th

The WCD is hosting an advisory committee meeting on November 5, 2024. You can find the agenda here including information about how to participate in…

October 24, 2024
by Daisha Barnes

Bridging Borders: Oregon’s Workers’ Compensation Reciprocity Explained

Out-of-State Employers When an out-of-state employee travels to Oregon for work and sustains an injury, it may result in an Oregon workers’ compensation claim, depending…

October 3, 2024
by Kieran MacIntyre

Oregon Workers’ Compensation Board issues decision expanding right to WRME

On September 16, 2024, a WCB Order on Review, Jon C. Landry, 76 Van Natta 462 (2024), expanded on the Court of Appeals ruling in…

September 24, 2024
by Hayley Porter

Oregon WCB clarifies carrier’s obligation to accept or deny encompassed conditions

A WCB Order on Review, Collin Stringer, 76 Van Natta 462 (2024), distinguished conditions encompassed within previously accepted conditions are not new or omitted conditions….

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…

August 21, 2024
by Eric Berglund

Oregon Workers’ Compensation: Does it make sense for an insurer to appeal its own Notice of Closure?

In Oregon, the attending physician plays a crucial role throughout the duration of a workers’ compensation claim. For better or worse, the importance of the…

August 14, 2024
by TJ Bhullar

What type of medical services are compensable after a worker is medically stationary in Oregon?

A common question which arises in Oregon workers’ compensation claims process is what type of medical services will continue to be compensable once a worker…

July 30, 2024
by Dee Akinbosade

Oregon Workers Compensation: Is the deposition of a medical arbiter a thing?

An impartial medical examination is typically scheduled as part of reconsideration proceedings when there is a disagreement about the impairment findings used to close a…

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….

July 9, 2024
by Megan Vaniman

Oregon Attorney Fees in Certain Workers’ Compensation Matters Increased as of July 1, 2024

In Oregon Workers’ Compensation, attorney fees for representation of a claimant are controlled by statute. Certain attorney fees associated with penalties for unreasonable claim processing…

July 2, 2024
by Matthew Baker

How exclusive is the exclusive remedy in Oregon Workers’ Compensation?

At the core of the Oregon workers’ compensation system is a compromise between workers’ and employers. Employers must provide benefits for work-related injuries even when…

June 20, 2024
by Hannah Teig

Oregon Court of Appeals Upholds Nava Rule

In Nava v. SAIF, 333 Or App 196 (2024), claimant sought judicial review of the Board’s denial of penalty and attorney fees under ORS 656.262(11)(a)…

June 11, 2024
by Evan Novotny

Oregon: Processing Proposed Surgical Authorization Requests Is Not Solely Based on Accepted Conditions

In 2019, the Oregon Supreme Court held that medical services materially related to the work injury are compensable under ORS 656.245 and are not limited…

May 31, 2024
by Jessica Fox

OREGON: When post-denial IME reports are submitted as evidence at hearing to bolster denial, Court of Appeals declares denial is based on the post-denial IME report.

On April 17, 2024, the Oregon Court of Appeals issued a ruling in Teitelman v. SAIF that a Worker Requested Medical Examination (WRME) can be…

May 16, 2024
by Stephen Verotsky

In Oregon, Delay In Seeking Clarification From Attending Physician Regarding an IME, PCE, and Regular Work Release Can Result in Unreasonable Refusal to Close.

The Oregon Workers’ Compensation Board is holding carriers to a high standard when it comes to securing the evidence needed to rate impairment and work…

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…

April 16, 2024
by Elyse Waters

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,…

April 8, 2024
by David White

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…

March 21, 2024
by Dee Akinbosade

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…

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….

March 5, 2024
by Andrew Evenson

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…

February 20, 2024
by Daisha Barnes

Oregon Injured Worker Not Cooperating? There’s a Denial for that.

Insurers or self-insured employers are required to conduct a reasonable investigation based on all available information” in order to decide whether to accept or deny…

February 9, 2024
by TJ Bhullar

Reminder – Significant changes to Oregon claim closure requirements and temporary disability notices

The start of the year brought several updates to the administrative rules governing claim closure, reconsideration, claim administration, and vocational assistance to injured workers. Carriers…

January 31, 2024
by Dee Akinbosade

Extinguishing the Firefighter Presumption in Oregon Workers’ Compensation

The introduction of H.B. 2915 to the Oregon Legislature, signed into law in the same year, expanded workers’ compensation protection to Portland firefighters who had…