Bowlin v. State Accident Insurance Fund Corp.

Claimant filed a claim for death benefits under ORS 656.226, asserting that she and decedent, a farm worker, had cohabited as husband and wife for at least one year before and were doing so at the time of the compensable accident. SAIF denied her claim, because it believed the evidence was insufficient to establish the claim. The referee reversed the denial, but the Workers’ Compensation Board reversed the referee, holding that claimant had failed to carry her burden of proof. On de novo review, we reverse.

ORS 656.226 provides:

“In case an unmarried man and an unmarried woman have cohabited in…