Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 656 § 656.204 — and 656.208

and 656.208. (d) If the insurer or self-insured employer has not issued a notice of closure, the worker may request closure. Within 10 days of receipt of a written request from the worker, the insurer or self-insured employer shall issue a notice of closure if the requirements of this section have been met or a notice of refusal to close if the requirements of this section have not been met. A notice of refusal to close shall advise the worker of: (A) The decision not to close; (B) The right of the worker to request a hearing pursuant to ORS 656.283 within 60 days of the date of the notice of refusal to close; (C) The right to be represented by an attorney; and (D) Any other information as the director may require. (e) If a worker, a worker’s beneficiary, an insurer or a self-insured employer objects to the notice of closure, the objecting party first must request reconsideration by the director under this section. A worker’s request for reconsideration must be made within 60 days of the date of the notice of closure. If the worker is deceased at the time the notice of closure is issued, a request for reconsideration by a beneficiary of the worker who was mailed a copy of the notice of closure under paragraph (b) of this subsection must be made within 60 days of the date of the notice of closure. A request for reconsideration by a beneficiary to the estate of a deceased worker who was not mailed a copy of the notice of closure under paragraph (b) of this subsection must be made within one year of the date the notice of closure was mailed to the estate of the worker under paragraph (b) of this subsection. A request for reconsideration by an insurer or self-insured employer may be based only on disagreement with the findings used to rate impairment and must be made within seven days of the date of the notice of closure. (f) If an insurer or self-insured employer has closed a claim or refused to close a claim pursuant to this section, if the correctness of that notice of closure or refusal to close is at issue in a hearing on the claim and if a finding is made at the hearing that the notice of closure or refusal to close was not reasonable, a penalty shall be assessed against the insurer or self-insured employer and paid to the worker in an amount equal to 25 percent of all compensation determined to be then due the claimant. (g) If, upon reconsideration of a claim closed by an insurer or self-insured employer, the director orders an increase by 25 percent or more of the amount of compensation to be paid to the worker for permanent disability and the worker is found upon reconsideration to be at least 20 percent permanently disabled, a penalty shall be assessed against the insurer or self-insured employer and paid to the worker in an amount equal to 25 percent of all compensation determined to be then due the claimant. If the increase in compensation results from information that the insurer or self-insured employer demonstrates the insurer or self-insured employer could not reasonably have known at the time of claim closure, from new information obtained through a medical arbiter examination or from a determination order issued by the director that addresses the extent of the worker’s permanent disability that is not based on the standards adopted pursuant to ORS 656.726 (4)(f), the penalty shall not be assessed. (6)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, only one reconsideration proceeding may be held on each notice of closure. At the reconsideration proceeding: (A) A deposition arranged by the worker, limited to the testimony and cross-examination of the worker about the worker’s condition at the time of claim closure, shall become part of the reconsideration record. The deposition must be conducted subject to the opportunity for cross-examination by the insurer or self-insured employer and in accordance with rules adopted by the director. The cost of the court reporter, interpreter services, if necessary, and one original of the transcript of the deposition for the Department of Consumer and Business Services and one copy of the transcript of the deposition for each party shall be paid by the insurer or self-insured employer. The reconsideration proceeding may not be postponed to receive a deposition taken under this subparagraph. A deposition taken in accordance with this subparagraph may be received as evidence at a hearing even if the deposition is not prepared in time for use in the reconsideration proceeding. (B) Pursuant to rules adopted by the director, the worker or the insurer or self-insured employer may correct information in the record that is erroneous and may submit any medical evidence that should have been but was not submitted by the attending physician or nurse practitioner authorized to provide compensable medical services under ORS 656.245 at the time of claim closure. (C) If the director determines that a claim