Hammond v. Liberty Northwest Ins. Corp.

“If a compensable injury combines with a preexisting disease or condition to cause or prolong disability or need for treatment, the resultant condition is compensable only to the extent that the compensable injury is and remains the major contributing cause of the disability or need for treatment.” ORS 656.005(7)(a)(B).

Claimant sought review of an order of the Workers’ Compensation Boarding holding that she was not entitled to death benefits. Claimant’s husband, who was traveling for work, had been undergoing treatment for metastatic lung cancer that had spread to his bones, causing fractures. As Husband walked through a hotel lobby, his left femur fractured due to weakness caused by the presence of the cancer in the bone. Claimant asserted that because Husband was traveling for work, any injury sustained during the travel was compensably related to his employment. In response, the Employer claimed that the leg fracture was idiopathic and was not materially related to his work claiming that the major contributing cause of the fracture was his preexisting cancer. “If a compensable injury combines with a preexisting disease or condition to cause or prolong disability or need for treatment, the resultant condition is compensable only to the extent that the compensable injury is and remains the major contributing cause of the disability or need for treatment.” ORS 656.005(7)(a)(B). The Court found that although walking at work contributed to the fracture, it is undisputed that the fracture was the result of a combination of Husband’s leg bearing weight while walking and Husband’s preexisting cancer. The Court held that the board did not err in determining that Husband’s cancer, and its spread to his bones, was a preexisting condition, as defined in ORS 656.005(24), and that the claim was not compensable. Affirmed.