Submit Form 801 to your employer and make sure the clinic sends Form 827; give notice within 90 days of the injury, and file the claim within 1 year.

A typical Portland example: a warehouse worker near the Columbia Corridor hurts his knee lifting pallets in November, just as year-end overtime starts. His doctor restricts him to light duty. The employer moves him from 40 hours loading trucks to 24 hours doing inventory at lower pay. Oregon workers' comp does not usually replace the whole missing paycheck. It generally pays temporary partial disability, which is usually about 66 2/3% of the wage loss caused by the restrictions, using the worker's spendable weekly wage.

So if he was taking home about $900 a week before the injury and light duty drops him to $500, the wage loss is $400. The comp check is often around $266.67 a week, not the full $400.

The general rules in Oregon are:

• If you miss work completely, time-loss is usually about 66 2/3% of your spendable weekly wage.
• If you work light duty for less pay or fewer hours, temporary partial disability usually covers about 66 2/3% of the difference.
• If the employer offers work that fits the doctor's written restrictions and you refuse it, wage-loss checks can stop.
• If the "light duty" does not match the restrictions, the insurer can still owe time-loss.
• You can usually choose your attending physician for the workers' comp claim, and that doctor's restrictions drive whether light duty counts.

In Oregon, insurers like SAIF or private carriers calculate the weekly amount, and disputes go through the Workers' Compensation Division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services. The dollar figure depends on your pre-injury earnings, tax status, and how many hours the light-duty job really provides.