Caren v. Providence Health Sys. Or. (In re Caren)

**468The dispute in this workers' compensation case arises from the intersection of overlapping statutory provisions that control the determination of a worker's permanent partial disability. ORS 656.214 obligates employers to provide compensation for a worker's permanent impairment, meaning "loss of use or function" that is "due to the compensable industrial injury." ORS 656.214(1)(a). But another statute limits the employer's liability when the compensable injury combines with a qualifying "preexisting condition" to "cause or prolong" the injured worker's' disability or need for medical…