Weyerhaeuser Co. v. Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals

The issue is what standard of comparison to use when analyzing whether a worker has prevailed in an employer’s appeal to the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals. We hold that the standard is the worker’s original claim, not the order appealed from. Because the Board and the superior court used that standard, we affirm.

In each of four separate cases, a Weyerhaeuser Co. employee claimed workers’ compensation benefits due to job-caused hearing loss. The Department of Labor & Industries ordered Weyerhaeuser to pay such benefits. Weyerhaeuser appealed to the Board of Industrial Insurance…