How Long Can I Collect Workers Compensation in Oregon?
Oregon has no time limit on how long a worker can collect compensation, or what is more frequently referred to as lost wages, time loss, or temporary disability payments. There are requirements to obtain such compensation.
A worker is eligible for such wage replacement payments when their attending physician authorizes their missed time from work indicating it is a result of their accepted workers’ compensation injury. A worker is eligible for wage replacement benefits from the date of their injury until they are medically stationary which is the date their attending physician states that there is no additional treatment that will improve their medical condition caused by their accepted injury. The authorization from their attending physician must be contemporaneous with the missed time, or it must be clear from the medical records that the worker is unable to work. This applies even if a worker is not working because they have been terminated or their employer has gone out of business. No authorization. No wage replacement payment.
Even after a worker is medically stationary, they may be eligible for time-loss benefits while enrolled, in a vocational retraining program if they are eligible. The length of time such benefits can be paid while enrolled in a vocational retraining program is limited to 16 months, although can be extended in special circumstances to 21 months.
Jodie Anne Phillips Polich has been serving the needs of injured workers since 1993 and has developed a statewide reputation for the quality of her work.