Court of Appeals Affirms Denial of Mental/Mental Claim

In Dubinovic v. Des Moines Public Schools, No. 18-0194 (Iowa App. May 15, 2019), the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed a decision finding that claimant had not demonstrated a mental/mental injury under Dunleavy  and Brown  v. Quik Trip.  Claimant had argued that the Supreme Court's standard in Dunleavy was inconsistent with the workers' compensation law.  The court declines to address this issue, as they are not in a position to overrule existing precedent.  The court finds that the agency correctly held that claimant had not met the Dunleavy standard.

The court also addressed the question of whether claimant had demonstrated he met the Brown standard, which does not require a showing of additional stress if there is an event of a sudden traumatic nature precipitating the mental injury.  The court found that substantial evidence supported the agency's finding that there was no such traumatic event.  The court also found that the failure to apply the Brown standard was not illogical, irrational or wholly unjustifiable.  Claimant had alleged that he had three meetings with supervisors about his performance and subsequently had a nervous breakdown.  The court concluded that the agency was correct in its assessment that this was not sufficient to meet the Brown standard.