Court of Appeals Affirms Permanent Total Disability Award
In Gleeson Constructors and Engineers, LLC v. Madrigal , No. 14-1467 (Iowa App. Jan. 13, 2016), the Court of Appeals affirmed the award of permanent total disability benefits on substantial evidence grounds. Claimant was a Mexican national who had three semesters of college in Mexico, but who was not fluent in English. He suffered an episode at work in 2007 where his back locked. He was placed on light duty and continued this work until he had surgery in 2009 and quit his job. Physicians and therapists believed the surgery was successful and there was no objective physical impairment to his back. Claimant testified to the extreme pain, loss of strength, inability to sleep and jerking in his left leg that occurred following the surgery. The court indicates that the subjective degree of pain made claimant's credibility an issue. Defendants also alleged that claimant had "a history of attempting to avoid work." Three functional capacity evaluations were administere