Court of Appeals Affirms Denial of Physical Mental Claim

In Sullivan v. West Central Cooperative, No. 18-1811 (Iowa App. Aug. 21, 2019), the Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the commissioner which concluded that claimant had failed to demonstrate a physical mental claim.

Claimant had a stipulated physical injury at work, which was not before the court on appeal.  The sole issue presented to the court was whether claimant had established a physical mental injury.  At hearing, two reports were presented by claimant in favor of a permanent mental health problem caused by the accident.  Claimant relied on the reports of Dr. Mills and Dr. Gallagher.  Defendants argued, based on the reports of Dr. Chesen and Dr. Andrikopoulos, that claimant had not established a physical mental injury.  They found that claimant was malingering and had no ongoing mental health problems as a result of the accident.  The deputy found and the commissioner affirmed, that claimant had not reported any depression, PTSD or other mental health problems in the wake of his accident and multiple surgeries.  The deputy also found that claimant had not sought mental health treatment.

On appeal, claimant argued that this was not a substantial evidence case, but the Court of Appeals disagreed.  The court noted that claimant had not reported any mental health symptoms for more than two years after the accident.  The court also noted that the reports of claimant's treating physician did not mention mental health problems.  The court concluded that the decision of the commissioner was based on substantial evidence and affirmed the denial of benefits.