Iowa Workers' Compensation

Paylor v. Dee Zee Inc., No. 14-1570 (Iowa App. Oct. 28, 2015)  involved a claim that was dismissed by the commissioner, who found that claimant's back injury and surgery were not related to his work injury.  The court notes that its scope of review was severely circumscribed and noted that judgment calls were left to the agency. The court affirmed the decision on substantial evidence grounds, noting that the agency carefully assessed the medical evidence, crediting certain medical providers over others and assessing the quality of the opinions, based on the medical history or lack thereof.  Because medical causation presented a question of fact vested in the discretion of the commission, and there was no abuse of this discretion, the decision of the agency was affirmed.

The list below is a compendium of appeal decisions decided by the Iowa Workers' Compensation Commissioner or his designee.   The list does not provide a detailed analysis of each case, but simply a synopsis of the results of the case, with brief discussions of interesting issues in various cases: December 2017 Young v. Bridgestone-Firestone and Second Injury Fund , No. 5035165 (App. Dec. 29, 2017) - Claimant had previously entered into two agreements for settlement with the employer and later brought a review-reopening claim and a claim against the Fund.  On review-reopening, claimant was awarded additional benefits for her arm injuries.  Defendants were ordered to pay $22,603.79 in penalties against the employer.  No benefits were awarded against the Fund (Walshire).  19 months from arbitration to appeal decision. Clark v. Concrete Central , No. 5049601 (App. Dec. 28, 2017) - The deputy concluded that although  claimant established a work injury, it was a temporary aggrav