Port of Portland Ocip v. Cierniak

After working as a carpenter for various employers for more than 25 years, claimant filed a claim for workers’ compensation benefits based on bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). The compensability of his condition is not at issue on review; rather, his various employers (and their insurers) disagree among themselves about which employer bears responsibility. The Workers’ Compensation Board (board), invoking the last injurious exposure rule, assigned responsibility for claimant’s left-side CTS to his most recent employer, the Port of Portland Owner Controlled Insurance Program (Port of…