Curative Treatment?

Thanks to the efforts of the Garrow Law firm, the court has issued a more important decision helping injured workers:

In SAIF v. Camarena, 264 Or App 400 (2014),SAIF claimed the injured worker was not entitled to have his claim reopened for his back strain.  The claim had been closed for more than 5 years so there was a requirement that the injured worker must be receiving “curative” treatment  order to reopen the claim and pay disability benefits.  The court agreed that the medical records showed  that the injured worker was not “medically stationary” and that his condition could improve with additional treatment.  Therefore, the Court ordered SAIF to reopen the claim and pay benefits.

The court held that the medical record easily would permit a reasonable person to find that the attending physician had prescribed treatment to bring about recovery from the injured worker’s back strain and the worker should have had his claim reopened.  The Court specifically disagreed with SAIF’s argument that it was up to the insurance company to decide if the proposed medical treatment was necessary to “cure” the injured worker’s condition

If you have questions or need help with your workers’ compensation claim, please contact the law office of Philip H. Garrow


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