Bush v. SAIF Corp.

Claimant appeals an order of the Workers’ Compensation Board which affirmed a referee’s finding that the worsening of his preexisting varicose vein condition is not a compensable occupational disease. ORS 656.802(1)(a). We reverse and remand.

Claimant first noticed varicose veins in his legs in the late 1940s, when he was in his twenties. At that time he worked as a jockey, and he found that standing in the stirrups while riding made his condition worse. He stopped riding in 1949, although he has since worked as a horse trainer and riding instructor, as well as a cook. When he stopped riding,…