Iowa Workers' Compensation

In Menard, Inc. v. Bahic, No. 14-0239 (Iowa App. Nov. 26, 2014), the commissioner found a 60% industrial disability and concluded that the commencement date for permanency was October of 2012.  Defendants urged the court to reverse, arguing that permanency should commence in May of 2011 and that the industrial disability award was inappropriate.  The court of appeals affirmed the decision of the agency. Claimant suffered a stipulated injury to his back in August of 2010.  Dr. Igram, although finding that surgery was not appropriate, imposed 20 pound restrictions on claimant, which precluded his former, heavy, work.  Claimant was placed on a job in the sales department answering phones and helping customers.  He worked on this job from February of 2011 until his termination in July of 2011. He received temporary partial disability benefits during this time, because he was often not provided with his former hours of work. The employer sought to place claimant ...

Catholic Health Initiatives v. Hunter , No. 14-0202 (Iowa App. Nov. 26, 2014) involved questions of causation, healing period benefits, permanency benefits and medical care.  The Court of Appeals affirmed the commissioner's award of benefits. Claimant had systemic lupus and was receiving social security disability benefits, but returned to work after those benefits were terminated.  She suffered a traumatic injury to her left wrist, hip and knee, and also complained of headaches as a part of this injury.  Following this incident, claimant had a fall at home and visited the doctor following that fall.  Claimant's symptoms had largely resolved when she slipped and fell again at work on March 3, 2010 (the earlier injuries were in 2009).  She was placed on work restrictions following this fall. Claimant was offered light duty work during the day, but could not perform that work because of family obligations.  No light duty work was available at night. ...

Following the settlement of a claim for 12% industrial disability and healing period benefits, claimant filed for review-reopening.  The agency concluded that claimant had established a material change in conditions since the time of the settlement, found that additional permanent impairment had been established and concluded that past and future medical expenses should be paid by defendants.  The district court affirmed the finding that there had been a change in circumstances and that claimant was entitled to medical care, but remanded the case for a finding of whether additional industrial disability had been incurred.  On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirms the findings of the district court.   Anderson News v. Reins , No. 14-0038 (Iowa App. Nov. 13, 2014). Following the settlement, claimant continued to treat with Dr. Kirkland, and he indicated that claimant did not have any further impairment or restrictions.  Because of the closure of claimant's employ...

In a case involving only procedural issues, the Court of Appeals affirmed the finding of the district court that it did not have jurisdiction to hear an interlocutory appeal of a case that presented the issue of whether workers' compensation or the Municipal Fire and Police Retirement System of Iowa (MFPRSI) governed the issue of compensation for claimant.   City of Davenport v. Timm , No. 13-1357 (Iowa App. Nov. 13, 2014).  Claimant was a police officer who was injured while enrolled in the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.  She returned to work, but because she was limited to simple office tasks, she was asked to resign, and told that if she did not resign she would be terminated. Following her resignation, claimant applied for a disability pension with MFPRSI and learned that her resignation disqualified her from benefits under that system.  She then filed for benefits under Chapter 85.  The city moved to dismiss the workers' compensation proceeding for lack of...

In West Des Moines Community School District v. Fry , No. 13-1391 (Oct. 19, 2014), the court of appeals affirmed the commissioner's order finding that claimant had suffered an injury that had both traumatic and cumulative aspects.  Claimant had suffered two traumatic injuries at work, one in 2007 causing injury to his left hip, collarbone and left shoulder and the second incident in 2008 causing injury to the left hip and SI joint.  Claimant initially filed claims relating to both injuries, but subsequently dismissed the 2007 claim.  With respect to the 2008 claim, claimant alleged that the injury was both acute and cumulative. The arbitration decision rejected the findings of Dr. Stoken because she had lumped together the two injuries from 2007 and 2008.  On appeal, the commissioner reversed, relying on the opinions of claimant's family physician, Dr. Honsey, as well as Dr. Stoken's IME.  The commissioner noted that Dr. Honsey had concluded that claimant's pa...

The Court of Appeals, in a case that is likely to be heard by the Supreme Court, has held that the Commissioner's Declaratory Order indicating that section 85.27 required the release of surveillance materials once surveillance had been conducted was appropriate.   Iowa Insurance Institute et al. v. Core Group of the Iowa Association for Justice , No. 13-1627 (Oct. 29, 2014).  The court, in a 2-1 decision, found that section 85.27 of the Code, in its requirement that the release of all information was required in a workers' compensation case, encompassed the disclosure of surveillance materials. The declaratory order proceeding had been brought by the Core Group of the Iowa Association for Justice (Core Group) before the commissioner to obtain an order elucidating the commissioner's position on this issue.  The Iowa Insurance Institute and other employer and defense counsel groups intervened in the proceedings at the commissioner level.  An initial question in the c...