No Penalty for Employer's Reasonable Delay in Claim Closure

An employer that did not respond to an injured worker's request to close his claim within 10 days is not liable for penalties and additional attorney fees because the delay was reasonable, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled.Case: Fitzsimonds v. MJ Hughes Construction, Nos. 0602879 and A1381730, 1/27/2010.Facts: David E. Fitzsimonds injured his shoulder while working for MJ Hughes Construction in February 2005. His employer accepted the injury as compensable.Fitzsimonds' physician determined his condition was medically stationary in March 2006 and asked the employer to schedule a physica...