Aetna Casualty Co. v. Aschbacher

Employer seeks review of an order of the Workers’ Compensation Board that reversed the referee and held that claimant’s low back condition is compensable. The Board decided that, under ORS 656.802(1), claimant could receive benefits for worsened symptoms without estabhshing that her underlying disease had worsened, if she proved that her work was a material contributing cause of the worsened symptoms. Employer contends that the Board erred in its interpretation of the 1987 1 amendments to ORS 656.802(1), both with respect to its conclusion that the material contributing cause standard applies…