Workers' compensation insurer must cover obese worker's gastric bypass costs

Portland, OR

A 350-pound worker in Oregon injured his knee while on the job. But treatment for the injury wouldn't be effective because of his weight, and the physician recommended gastric bypass surgery. A lawsuit was brought and an appeals court sided with the state's Workers' Compensation Board, saying SAIF, a state-chartered workers' compensation insurer, had to cover the cost because the "injury was more than a minor cause of the claimant's need for gastric surgery and was therefore compensable."

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