SAIF Corp. v. Hanscam

SAIF, as insurer for Elams Home Furnishings, seeks review of an order of the Workers’ Compensation Board determining the “date of injury” for claimant’s occupational disease claim. The date of injury determines the applicable rate of compensation that claimant receives for permanent partial disability (PPD) under ORS 656.214. ORS 656.202(2). We conclude that the board did not err and affirm.

For his entire adult life, claimant’s work has involved physical labor and strain on the knees. In 1987 and 1988, while working for a Washington employer, claimant underwent arthroscopic surgeries on his…