Bundy v. NuStar GP, LLC

ORS 656.019(1)(a) provides, in part, “a work-related injury that has been determined to be not compensable because the worker has failed to establish that a work-related incident was the major contributing cause of the worker’s injury.”

Plaintiff (Employee), sought panel review of a Court of Appeals determination which affirmed the trial court’s denial of Employee’s motion to amend his complaint. Employee assigned error to the Court of Appeals determination that Employee’s additional negligence claims were barred because they are outside the scope of ORS 656.019. On review, Employee argued the Court of Appeals misconstrued the meaning of ORS 656.019 when it determined the statute provided civil action by an injured worker may be pursued “only after an order determining that the claim is not compensable has become final.” Employer argued ORS 656.019 did not apply if an injured worker has an accepted workers’ compensation claim because ORS 656.019 is a procedural requirement and does not confer an additional right. ORS 656.019(1)(a) provides, in part, “a work-related injury that has been determined to be not compensable because the worker has failed to establish that a work-related incident was the major contributing cause of the worker’s injury.” The Oregon Supreme Court held that under ORS 656.019, a claim for work-related injury is broad and includes claims for “a condition that is denied on major-contributing-cause grounds after an initial claim acceptance has been issued.” The decision of the Court of Appeals is reversed. The judgment of the circuit court is reversed, and the case is remanded to the circuit court for further proceedings.