73rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2005 Regular Session
 
NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .
 
LC 1217
 
                         Senate Bill 551
 
Sponsored by COMMITTEE ON GENERAL GOVERNMENT
 
 
                             SUMMARY
 
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
 
  Recognizes injured workers' rights as stated objective of
Workers' Compensation Law.
 
                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to rights of injured workers under Workers' Compensation
  Law; amending ORS 656.012.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1. ORS 656.012 is amended to read:
  656.012. (1) The Legislative Assembly finds that:
  (a) The performance of various industrial enterprises necessary
to the enrichment and economic well-being of all the citizens of
this state will inevitably involve injury to some of the workers
employed in those enterprises;
  (b) The method provided by the common law for compensating
injured workers involves long and costly litigation, without
commensurate benefit to either the injured workers or the
employers, and often requires the taxpayer to provide expensive
care and support for the injured workers and their dependents;
and
  (c) An exclusive, statutory system of compensation will provide
the best societal measure of those injuries that bear a
sufficient relationship to employment to merit incorporation of
their costs into the stream of commerce.
  (2) In consequence of these findings, the objectives of the
Workers' Compensation Law are declared to be as follows:
  (a) To provide, regardless of fault, sure, prompt and complete
medical treatment for injured workers and fair, adequate and
reasonable income benefits to injured workers and their
dependents;
  (b) To provide a fair and just administrative system for
delivery of medical and financial benefits to injured workers
that reduces litigation and eliminates the adversary nature of
the compensation proceedings, to the greatest extent practicable;
  (c) To restore the injured worker physically and economically
to a self-sufficient status in an expeditious manner and to the
greatest extent practicable;
  (d) To encourage maximum employer implementation of accident
study, analysis and prevention programs to reduce the economic
loss and human suffering caused by industrial accidents; and
  (e) To provide the sole and exclusive source and means by which
subject workers, their beneficiaries and anyone otherwise
entitled to receive benefits on account of injuries or diseases
arising out of and in the course of employment shall seek and
qualify for remedies for such conditions.
   { +  (3) In recognition of the stated objective of providing
sure, prompt and complete medical treatment for injured workers
and fair, adequate and reasonable income benefits to injured
workers and their dependents, the Workers' Compensation Law shall
provide that:
  (a) An injured worker has the right to equal access to the
worker's attending physician. If a representative of an insurer,
employer or self-insured employer seeks to discuss a matter
concerning an injured worker's claim with the worker's attending
physician, that person must notify the injured worker or the
injured worker's attorney and allow the worker or the worker's
attorney the opportunity to be present during the discussion. If
the injured worker requests the attending physician's opinion
about the worker's claim, the attending physician may not charge
the worker more for a medical report than the physician charges
the insurer, employer or self-insured employer for a similar
report.
  (b) An injured worker has the right to a reasonable
investigation of a claim. The worker or the worker's attorney
shall have the opportunity to take recorded statements from the
employer and employees of the injured worker's employer regarding
the circumstances giving rise to the claim and shall be provided
access to the work site to investigate material facts underlying
the claim. Before making a decision on the compensability of the
claim, the insurer, employer or self-insured employer responsible
for processing the worker's claim shall conduct a reasonable
investigation of the claim. Failure to conduct a reasonable
investigation will result in the imposition of a penalty against
the party issuing the decision.
  (c) An injured worker whose claim or right to compensation has
been denied has the right to select a physician, from a list of
approved medical specialists maintained by the Department of
Consumer and Business Services, who will conduct an objective
medical examination paid by the insurer or self-insured employer
and provide a report of that examination. The injured worker may
request the examination and report regardless of whether the
attending physician agrees or disagrees with the opinion of a
physician who conducts a medical examination requested by an
insurer or self-insured employer.
  (d) An injured worker has the right to return to the worker's
employment at the time of injury if the worker is capable of
doing so after becoming medically stationary. Disputed claim
settlements, claim disposition agreements or stipulated
settlements approved by the Workers' Compensation Board may not
be based on the injured worker's agreement to a resignation from
employment or a release of employment rights that is not subject
to dispute resolution under the Workers' Compensation Law. + }
    { - (3) - }   { + (4) + } In recognition that the goals and
objectives of this Workers' Compensation Law are intended to
benefit all citizens, it is declared that the provisions of this
law shall be interpreted in an impartial and balanced manner.
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