 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Westfall v. Rust International11/5/1992
rance of symptoms, the prompt reporting of the occurrence by the workman to his superior and consultation with a physician, and the fact that the plaintiff was heretofore in good health and free from any disability of the kind involved. A further relevant factor is the absence of expert testimony that the alleged precipitating event could not have been the cause of the injury[.]" (Emphasis added; citation omitted.)
That principle was applied in Pea v. Compensation Department, 248 Or 487, 492-93, 435 P2d 821 (1967), where this court stated:
"It is apparent from the evidence presented by the plaintiff in this case, examined in light of the principles stated in
Uris v. Compensation Department, supra, that no medical testimony is necessary * * *."
See also Barrett v. Coast Range Plywood, 294 Or 641, 645, 661 P2d 926 (1983) (in workers' compensation claim, whether rule regarding necessity for expert medical testimony is to be applied depends on whether medical question presented is "uncomplicated"); Cleland v. Wilcox, 273 Or 883, 543 P2d 1032 (1975) (where physician's evidence showed plaintiff's injury was not an "uncomplicated situation," rule stated in Uris required expert medical testimony); Austin v. Sisters of Charity, 256 Or 179, 183, 470 P2d 939 (1970) (where features of case met criteria set out in Uris, jury could decide causation of injury without expert testimony).
Claimant's argument centered on the meaning and application of the term "uncomplicated" and related terms, as applied to the medical "situations" of workers' compensation claimants. The use of those terms by referees and by the Workers' Compensation Board in the adjudication of workers' compensation claims is, arguably, sufficiently established to qualify those terms as "legal terms," and they appear to have been used as such by the parties here.
In his petition for judicial review of the Board's decision to the Court of Appeals, claimant's lawyer conceded that, "on judicial review pursuant to ORS 656.298, the Court [of Appeals] will not disturb the Board's weighing of competing medical opinions in the record." However, he also argued that, under that statute, "the Legislature has not prohibited the Court from reviewing the Board's applications of 'provisions of law.'" We conclude that the meaning of the terms used in Uris v. Compensation Department, supra, as well as the application of those terms to the facts of a particular worker's medical situation, arguably are questions of law that are reviewable by the Court of Appeals under ORS 656.298(6) and 183.482(8)(a). Claimant's lawyer's argument to that effect was not one that a reasonable lawyer would know was not warranted by a reasonable argument for the extension or modification of existing law. Therefore, the appeal was not "frivolous" within the meaning of ORS 656.390.
The decision of the Court of Appeals is reversed. The case is remanded to the Court of Appeals with instructions to vacate the order imposing sanctions against claimant's lawyer.
Disposition
The decision of the Court of Appeals is reversed. The case is remanded to the Court of Appeals with instructions to vacate the imposition of sanctions against claimant's lawyer.
General Footnotes
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 Oregon Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|