Category: Oregon Workers Compensation
Changes to Oregon rules regarding Employer/Insurer Coverage Responsibility effective as of January 1, 2017
OAR 436-050 governs the responsibility of employers and insurers to provide workers’ compensation coverage to subject workers for compensable injuries and illnesses. Many changes to an employer/insurers coverage responsibility went into effect at the start of the New Year. Some of these changes were stylistic and meant to provide improved…
Changes to OAR 436-060 effective as of January 1, 2017
In 2016, the Workers’ Compensation Division drafted changes to OAR 436-060. These changes went into effect on January 1, 2017. Below, I have outlined several changes that claim’s administrators should be aware of. Please note that the below list and recommendations is not a complete list of changes to Division…
Board’s new attorney fee rules go into effect on November 1.
The Oregon Workers’ Compensation Board passed revised attorney fee rules on October 13, 2016. The most significant changes involve increased attorney fees for disputed claims settlements and claims disposition agreements. The Board increased attorney fees on Disputed Claim Settlements and Claims Disposition Agreements. Previously attorneys were awarded 25% of the…
When is an injury sustained in an employer-controlled parking lot NOT compensable?
As a general rule, injuries sustained by employees when going to and coming from their regular workplace are not deemed to arise out of and in the course of their employment. SAIF v. Reel, 303 Or 210, 216 (1987). One exception is the “parking lot rule.” This rule states that…
Reasonable Denials?
The reasonableness of a denial turns on the existence of “legitimate doubt as to liability” and is measured based on the available information at the time the denial issues. (Continuation of a denial may also be deemed unreasonable if the legitimate doubt is later destroyed.) If a denial is deemed…
When is a worker a “subject worker?”
The vast majority of workers in Oregon will be subject to the workers compensation system, with some exceptions. It is important to consider whether an injured worker is a subject worker when investigating the claim. Two recent cases address this important question. Carpenter hired to remodel apartment on a couple’s farm not…
Attorney Fees for Claimant Statements/Depositions
As of January 1, 2016, worker’s attorneys have been entitled to a new hourly attorney fee for “actual time spent during the personal or telephonic interview or deposition.” ORS 656.262(14)(a). These statements are taken as a part of the injured worker’s duty to cooperate with the investigation of a claim….
Oregon Legislature begins Short Session
The Oregon Legislature met on February 1, 2016 beginning a 35-day “Short Session.” In 2010, Oregon approved these sessions in even numbered years to allow the legislature to make corrections in its two year budgets. These sessions have increasingly been used to make new policy changes though. Here are a…
Reminder-CDA Requirements
A Claims Disposition Agreement—better known as a CDA—is a great tool to settle accepted claims. Once a claim is accepted, the claimant retains rights to medical services for the compensable injury. A CDA does not release a claimant’s right to these services. Over the summer, we saw the Board clarify…
