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| Home > Statutes > Usa Oregon |
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USA Statutes : oregon
Title : TITLE 51 LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Chapter : Chapter 655 Benefits for Injured Trainees and Inmates
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As used in ORS
655.505 to 655.555:
(1) "Attending practitioner" means Department of Corrections
medical staff, or specialists assisting Department of Corrections medical
staff, while the inmate is committed to the physical and legal custody of
the Department of Corrections. At all other times, "attending
practitioner" means a person licensed in Oregon or another state as a
medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy, doctor of optometry, doctor of
dentistry or nurse practitioner who provides services within the scope of
the license.
(2) "Authorized work or occupational training assignment" means the
work assignment of an inmate:
(a) As authorized by ORS 421.305 to 421.340;
(b) As authorized by ORS 421.450 to 421.480;
(c) As authorized by ORS 144.410 to 144.525; or
(d) In any other inmate activity or program, including, but not
limited to, on-the-job training established by the Department of
Corrections under section 41, Article I, Oregon Constitution, whether or
not compensation has been established by the Director of the Department
of Corrections for participation in the activity or program.
(3) "Department" means the Oregon Department of Administrative
Services.
(4) "Injury" means:
(a) An accidental injury or accidental injury to prosthetic devices
occurring in the course of, and caused in major part by, an authorized
work or occupational training assignment requiring medical services and
resulting in disability or death; or
(b) Any disease or infection that:
(A) Arises out of, and in the course of, an authorized work or
occupational training assignment;
(B) Is caused in major part by ingestion, absorption or inhalation
of, or contact with, dust, fumes, vapors, gases, radiation or other
substances to which a worker who is not an inmate is not ordinarily
subjected or exposed while working;
(C) Requires medical services; and
(D) Results in disability or death.
(5) "Inmate" means a person committed to the physical and legal
custody of the Department of Corrections.
(6) "Medical services" means reasonable and necessary services
prescribed by an attending practitioner for conditions resulting from
injury for a period that the nature of the injury or the process of
recovery requires. "Medical services" includes medical, surgical,
hospital, nursing, ambulance and other related services, drugs, medicine,
crutches and prosthetic appliances, braces and supports and, when
necessary, physical restorative services.
(7) "Medically stationary" means that no further material
improvement would reasonably be expected from medical treatment or the
passage of time.
(8) The terms "beneficiary," "child" and "dependent" are defined as
provided in ORS 656.005. [1963 c.527 §1; 1967 c.504 §10; 1969 c.247 §6;
1969 c.597 §63; 1975 c.631 §1; 1987 c.320 §241; 1991 c.566 §7; 1993 c.500
§50; 1995 c.384 §18; 1997 c.851 §14](1) Every inmate shall
receive benefits as provided in ORS 655.505 to 655.555 for injury
sustained in an authorized work or occupational training assignment:
(a) Where the injury is proximately caused by or received in the
course of the authorized work or occupational training assignment, with
or without negligence of the inmate;
(b) Where the injury is not intentionally self-inflicted;
(c) Where the injury is not a result of a willful violation of work
rules or rules regulating inmate conduct or premises security; and
(d) Where the injury does not occur to an active participant in an
assault or combat that is not connected to the job assignment and that
constitutes a deviation from customary duties.
(2) An injury must be established by medical evidence supported by
objective findings. The medical evidence must be substantiated by
verifiable pathological indication of injury that includes, but is not
limited to, range of motion, atrophy, muscle strength, palpable muscle
spasm and diagnostic evidence substantiated by clinical findings.
Objective findings do not include physical findings or subjective
responses to physical examinations that are not consistently
reproducible, measurable or observable, or do not fit an anatomical
pattern and that cannot be demonstrated after reasonable medical
evaluation. A claimant's statement to a physician or other party does not
constitute objective medical evidence sufficient to substantiate an
injury.
(3) The following circumstances do not constitute a basis for
establishing an injury:
(a) Compulsion to participate in employment or training;
(b) Disciplinary action taken by the Department of Corrections;
(c) Action taken by the Department of Corrections to protect the
safety of persons other than inmates or of other inmates or to maintain
order; or
(d) Actions of other inmates.
(4) The filing of claims for benefits under ORS 655.505 to 655.555
is the exclusive remedy of an inmate or beneficiary of the inmate for
injuries compensable under ORS 655.505 to 655.555 against the state or
its political subdivisions or any person or entity that contracts with
the Department of Corrections for the services of inmate labor, any
person or entity that employs an inmate in a work release program
established under ORS 144.420 or any owner or manager of premises where
authorized work or occupational training assignments occur, regardless of
negligence. This section applies to any work-related injury to, or
conditions of, an inmate whether or not the injury is determined to be
compensable under ORS 655.505 to 655.555. [1963 c.527 §§2,4; 1995 c.384
§19]If an inmate sustains an injury as described in ORS
655.510, benefits shall be delivered in a manner similar to that provided
for injured workers under the workers' compensation laws of this state,
except that:
(1) No benefits, except medical services and any occupational
training or rehabilitation services provided by the Department of
Corrections, shall accrue to the inmate until the date of release from
confinement and shall be based upon the condition of the inmate at that
time.
(2) Benefits shall be discontinued during any subsequent period of
reconfinement in a penal institution.
(3) Costs of rehabilitation services to disabled inmates shall be
paid out of the Insurance Fund established under ORS 278.425 in an amount
approved by the Oregon Department of Administrative Services, which shall
be the reasonable and necessary cost of such services.
(4) Medical services when the inmate is confined in a Department of
Corrections facility shall be those provided by the Department of
Corrections. After release, medical services shall be paid only if
necessary to the process of recovery and as prescribed by the attending
practitioner. No medical services may be paid after the attending
practitioner has determined that the inmate is medically stationary other
than for reasonable, periodic repair or replacement of prosthetic
appliances. The department, by rule, may require that medical and
rehabilitation services after release must be provided directly by the
state or its contracted managed care organization. [1963 c.527 §3; 1991
c.566 §8; 1995 c.384 §20](1) Claims for entitlement to benefits under ORS 655.505 to
655.555 shall be filed by application with the Oregon Department of
Administrative Services as provided by rules adopted by the department,
to the extent not inconsistent with ORS 655.505 to 655.555. Such claims
shall be filed within the required periods after the injury even though
actual benefits may not accrue until release of the inmate from
confinement. The department may, before acting upon a claim, require
further information for determination of eligibility under ORS 655.505 to
655.555.
(2) When a claim is approved, the department shall make an initial
estimate of award conditioned as provided in ORS 655.515. Upon release of
the inmate from confinement, the inmate shall apply for an award and the
department shall reaffirm or modify its initial award in a manner
appropriate to the condition of the inmate upon release.
(3) The rights to benefits under ORS 655.505 to 655.555 shall be
barred unless written claim is filed with the department within 90 days
after the injury, or if death results therefrom, within 90 days after
death. However, if death occurs more than one year after the injury, the
right shall be barred unless prior written claim based on the injury has
been timely filed. The inmate must make written application for an award
no later than 180 days following the release of the inmate from
confinement. The requirements of this subsection may be waived by the
department on the ground that, for good and sufficient reason, the claim
could not be filed on time. [1963 c.527 §5; 1965 c.285 §79d; 1991 c.566
§9; 1995 c.384 §21] Except as otherwise
provided by rule of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services, an
inmate or the beneficiary of the inmate may obtain review of action taken
on the claim as provided in ORS 656.283 to 656.304. [1963 c.527 §6; 1965
c.285 §79e; 1983 c.740 §241a; 1995 c.384 §22] No
benefits payable under ORS 655.505 to 655.555 are subject to assignment
prior to their receipt by the person entitled thereto, nor shall they
pass by operation of law. These benefits and the right to receive them
are also exempt from seizure on execution, attachment or garnishment, or
by the process of any court. [1963 c.527 §7] Claims payments and administrative
costs of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services shall be
charged by the department to the Department of Corrections pursuant to
ORS 278.435. [1963 c.527 §§8,12; 1981 c.211 §1; 1987 c.320 §242; 1991
c.566 §10] (1) The assessments
paid to the Oregon Department of Administrative Services by the
Department of Corrections shall be credited as a component of the
Insurance Fund pursuant to ORS 278.425 and 278.435.
(2) Funds credited to the inmate injury component of the Insurance
Fund for the purposes of ORS 655.505 to 655.555 may be used to effect
insurance or reinsurance with any authority or instrumentality, public or
private, or otherwise to distribute the liability for compensation
payable to persons entitled to recover under ORS 655.505 to 655.555.
[1963 c.527 §§9,11; 1967 c.335 §54; 1967 c.637 §§25,25a; 1989 c.966 §66;
1991 c.566 §11]Liability of the Oregon Department of
Administrative Services or the Insurance Fund for the payment of benefits
under ORS 655.505 to 655.555 is contingent upon and limited by the
availability of reserves in the inmate injury component of the Insurance
Fund. In the event that the reserves in the inmate injury component of
the Insurance Fund are not sufficient to meet the benefit payments and
administration cost for a given period, the expenses of the department
shall have precedence over all other claims. Thereafter, priority among
claimants is determined according to the time of filing of the claim.
[1963 c.527 §10; 1991 c.566 §12]The Workers' Compensation Board
may from time to time assess the Oregon Department of Administrative
Services for the reasonable cost of services provided by the board under
ORS 655.505 to 655.555. [1965 c.285 §79g; 1991 c.566 §13] The
Oregon Department of Administrative Services, with the approval of the
Department of Corrections, shall adopt rules necessary to administer the
inmate injury fund. The rules may provide for procedures, benefits and
coverage that vary from the workers' compensation system. [1995 c.384
§24; 1997 c.851 §15]BENEFITS FOR INJURED OCCUPATIONALLY LIMITED TRAINEES As used in ORS
655.605 and 655.615:
(1) "Department" means the Department of Human Services.
(2) "Employer" means any person who provides on-the-job training
for trainees in cooperation with the department or the Commission for the
Blind even though no wages or salary is paid to the trainee.
(3) "Employment" means work experience through nonremunerative,
on-the-job training as a part of a special training program of the
department or the Commission for the Blind occurring on the premises of
the employer or at such other places as the department or the Commission
for the Blind and the employer may agree.
(4) "Injury" means any personal injury sustained by a trainee by
accident, disease or infection arising out of and in the course of
employment, or death resulting proximately therefrom as provided in ORS
chapter 656.
(5) "State Accident Insurance Fund Corporation" and "corporation"
mean the State Accident Insurance Fund Corporation created under ORS
656.752.
(6) "Trainee" or "client" means an occupationally limited person
who is participating in a special training or evaluation program of the
department or the Commission for the Blind in which the trainee is
enrolled. [1971 c.581 §1; 1973 c.429 §1; 1979 c.814 §5; 1981 c.184 §1;
1989 c.224 §123; 2001 c.900 §213](1) All clients participating in a work evaluation or work
experience program of the Department of Human Services are considered as
workers subject to ORS chapter 656 for purposes of this section.
(2) The department shall submit a written statement to the State
Accident Insurance Fund Corporation that includes a description of the
work to be performed by such clients.
(3) Upon receiving the written statement, the corporation may fix
assumed wage rates for the clients enrolled in the work evaluation or
work experience program, without regard to ORS chapter 652, ORS 653.010
to 653.545 or 653.991, which may be used only for purposes of
computations under ORS chapter 656.
(4) The department shall maintain a separate list of the names of
those enrolled in its work evaluation or work experience program; and
shall, upon request, furnish or make such list available to the
corporation. Clients covered under this section are entitled to the
benefits of ORS chapter 656 and they are entitled to such benefits if
injured as provided in ORS 656.156 and 656.202 while performing any
duties arising out of and in the course of their participation in the
work evaluation or work experience program, provided the duties being
performed are among those described in the written statement referred to
in subsection (2) of this section.
(5) The filing of claims for benefits under this section is the
exclusive remedy of a trainee or the beneficiary of the trainee for
injuries compensable under ORS chapter 656 against the state, its
political subdivisions, its officers and employees, or the person who
provides on-the-job training or job evaluation services for the injured
client, regardless of negligence except that the exclusive remedy
provisions shall not apply in the case of suits brought under the
provisions of ORS 656.576 to 656.596 against third parties. [1971 c.581
§2; 1981 c.184 §2; 1983 c.706 §1]
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