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Workers' CompensationB. AggravationPrepared by members of Oregon Workers' Compensation Attorneys 9. Is an aggravation claim different from a new injury claim? Yes. A new injury claim is the worker's first written request for compensation as the result of an accidental injury or occupational injury. A claim for aggravation is a worker's request for additional disability compensation stemming from a worsening of previously accepted conditions. 10. How does a doctor assist the patient in the presentation of an aggravation claim? The doctor must submit two reports:
11. What is a Form 827? A copy of the form will be reproduced in the Appendix to this guide. The worker (or worker's representative) must complete the top portion indicating by checking a box that the form is serving as written notice of an aggravation claim. The doctor must complete the bottom portion. On this form, the doctor authorizes time loss, sets job modification requirements, and may also briefly detail specific findings demonstrating a worsening of the accepted conditions. 12. What is the significance of Form 827? Unless the doctor fills in and files Form 827, no aggravation claim has been made. 13. How does a doctor obtain Form 827? DCBS supplies them. Call (503) 947-7627 and ask for them. 14. What special information must be in the brief narrative report? Two statements are critical: a) "An actual worsening of the condition that is based upon objective findings. b) "The worsened condition is attributable to the compensable injury." The contents of the report are fact specific (see Section E about report writing). 15. What does "objective findings" mean in the workers' compensation law? Objective findings are clinical indications sufficient to establish to the doctor's satisfaction that an actual worsening of the accepted condition has occurred. The indications may include but are not limited to: a) Reduced range of motion since the last closure, b) Palpable muscle spasm, or c) Subjective responses to physical examinations that are reproducible, measurable or observable. 16. What is a "worsening" of the condition versus a "waxing and waning"? An earlier closing of the worker's claim which awarded any amount of permanent disability, no matter how insubstantial, is now presumed to have contemplated future waxing and waning of symptoms of the condition. Worsening must now be based on more than a loss of earning capacity, inpatient hospitalization or time off work. An actual worsening is something more serious than a waxing of symptomatology. Return to Answers to Medical Questions Front Page Collection: Rates, Bills, Settlements | Aggravation | Communication with Attorneys, Insurers and Patients | Notices for Return to Work and Modified or Light Duty | Report Writing, Magic Words; Standards for Injury, Aggravation and Occupational Disease | Treatment after Claim Closure and in Aggravation Situations | Time Loss Authorization Last update: June 1, 2001
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