Fields v. Workmen's Compensation Board

This case, which turns on the construction of ORS 656.278(1), a workmen’s compensation statute, has an involved procedural history. Claimant’s request for compensation for a heart attack was rejected by the administrator, the referee and the Workmen’s Compensation Board. He failed to perfect his appeal from the board to circuit court. On two different occasions 14 months and 22 months after the board’s order, he asked the board to reconsider his claim on its own motion under ORS 656.278(1), which gives the board continuing jurisdiction to modify its former orders or awards on its own motion.…