Ivie v. State Accident Insurance Fund Corp.

In this workers’ compensation case SAIF denied claimant’s claim. The referee ordered SAIF to accept the claim, finding that claimant’s degenerative joint disease had worsened as a result of his work activity. The Workers’ Compensation Board reversed the referee’s order. Claimant appeals from the Board’s order reinstating SAIF’s denial of the claim. We reverse.

The issue in this proceeding is compensability: whether claimant has shown that his work activity has caused a worsening of the underlying disease and not merely an increase in symptoms. In Weller v. Union Carbide, 288 Or 27, 602 P2d 259…