Weller v. Union Carbide Corp.

This is a contested claim for workers’ compensation benefits for occupational disease, ORS 656.802 to 656.824. The following issue is posed: Does a worker have a compensable claim where: (1) he has an underlying disease which is symptomatic; (2) his work results in a worsening of his symptoms not produced by a concomitant worsening of the underlying disease process; and (3) the worsening requires either medical services or results in disability or both? We answer in the negative.

The employer timely denied the claim. The referee and the Workers’ Compensation Board upon review affirmed the…