Court of Appeals Rejects Argument That Chapter 677 is Applicable to Workers' Compensation Claims
The case of Nkanta v. Wal-Mart Stores , No. 12-0475 (Iowa App. Nov. 29, 2012), presented an unusual situation where defendants had presented to the deputy a "confidential " sealed envelope that included an offer to confess judgment. The agency found that offers to confess judgment under Chapter 677 were not applicable to workers' compensation proceedings. The court of appeals affirmed this finding, as well as findings that claimant failed to prove he sustained a permanent work injury and findings that the costs were to be borne by each party. Claimant sustained an injury to his low back while working at Wal-Mart. Claimant persisted in having difficulties with his back but Drs. Boyett, Koenig and McCaughey concluded that there was no permanent injury. Dr. Chen at UIHC found there was myofascial pain and Dr. Jones performed an IME indicating there was a 5% permanent impairment. The deputy rejected Dr. Jones opinion because he gave no analysis as to why there was an i