Oregon OSHA – Increased Penalties for 2025
In 2023, with the passage of Senate Bill 592, the Oregon Legislature dramatically augmented the range of civil penalties on employers who violate Oregon Safe…
Washington L&I Self-Insurance Reminders About Employer Claim Closures
Happy 2025 from SBH Legal! Let’s start the year off with a refresh on self-insured employer closures in Washington. Self-insured employers have the authority to…
Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries Announces Mystery Listening Sessions
Listening sessions scheduled by the Department of Labor & Industries are nothing new. It is common practice for the Department to ask for feedback from…
Oregon Workers’ Compensation End of Year Wrap Up: Let’s End on a High Note!
We welcomed 2024 with a slew of changes to the Oregon Revised Statutes and Oregon Administrative rules on Workers’ Compensation that impact and change how…
Navigating claim compensability for injuries outside the State of Washington
Under the Industrial Insurance Act, workers for Washington employers are entitled to benefits for injuries sustained in the course of employment. Under Washington’s extraterritorial statute,…
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…
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…
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…
What constitutes a valid light duty job offer in Washington?
If an injured worker is not able to perform their job of injury, but is able to perform some type of work, offering a light…
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…
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…
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…
In Washington, willful or not, misrepresentation puts you on the spot
Everyone can agree, when you take something that you are not entitled to, there are consequences that follow. In Washington worker’s compensation claims it is…
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…
The Oregonian Names SBH Legal A Winner Of The Oregon And Southwestern Washington Top Workplaces, Second Year In A Row!
SBH Legal has been awarded a Top Workplaces 2024 honor by The Oregonian for the second consecutive year. Check out the full list: The Oregonian. This…
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….
To Confer or Not to Confer? Understanding Conferral Requirements in Oregon and Washington
Both Oregon and Washington courts emphasize the need for attorneys to confer before filing certain motions, but their specific requirements differ. This post highlights the…
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…
Washington Proposed Rule-Making for Third Party Recording: Additional Red Tape in an Already Onerous System?
Since the implementation of new rules allowing claimants to record examinations requested by the Department or Self-Insurer in 2023 employers have encountered increased difficulty in…
Federal Judge Strikes Down FTC’s Ban on Worker Noncompete Agreements: What It Means for Employers
In January 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed a sweeping federal ban on noncompete agreements in nearly all employment contracts—a move poised to significantly…
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…
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…
Washington Court of Appeals: New Insight on Notice and the Authority of DLI Policies
In the State of Washington, employers are required to give notice of a mandatory IME at least 14 to 60 days prior to the examination,…
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…
Washington State Approves Spinal Cord Stimulation for Certain Pain Conditions
On June 14, 2024, there was a final adoption of new guidelines for spinal cord stimulation (SCS). Spinal cord stimulation is a treatment for chronic…
