WCD Adopts Permanent Rules for Apportionment and Denied Conditions

The Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division adopted permanent rules, effective Dec. 4, that clarify when apportionment is still acceptable for a denied condition, based on a state Supreme Court decision issued earlier this year. Oregon’s highest court in Johnson v. SAIF Corp. held that a worker is entitled to the full value of the total impairment, including a portion attributed to a denied condition, when a compensable injury is a material cause. The new rules will clarify that apportionment for a denied condition is not allowed unless the denied condition is a combined condition ...