Iowa Workers' Compensation

In Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Plummer , No. 14-0417 (Iowa App. Jan. 28, 2015), the court addressed an issue involving an employee who was admittedly off the clock when he suffered his injury, but who was assisting customers at the store at which he worked.  On the date of the injury, claimant had completed his shift clocked out and was shopping at the store.  When he was leaving, he and a co-worked assisted a customer.  While providing assistance, claimant slipped and fell.  He subsequently completed an incident report designed for customers rather than employees. The deputy concluded that because claimant was no longer on the clock, the injury did not arise out of and in the course of employment.  On appeal, the court indicates that the commissioner did not specifically address the "off the clock" finding, but examined the causal connection between the fall and the subsequent medical treatment. The commissioner found that the visit to the physician four days af...

In Hydecker Wheatland Co. v. Bruce , No. 14-0492 (Iowa App. Jan. 14, 2015), the Court of Appeals affirms an award of permanent total disability on substantial evidence grounds.  Claimant had suffered electrical burns to his hands, which precluded his employment in the competitive workforce. The court noted that claimant had come in contact with a live electrical wire, and that the voltage entered his body through his right hand and exited through his left hand. This caused severe burns and nerve damage.  Claimant's fingers were amputated and there was removal of additional areas of burned skin to facilitate skin grafting.  Following the procedures, numerous ratings of impairment were provided, all of which concluded that claimant had substantial impairment. Claimant's vocational expert, Kent Jayne, found that claimant was not able to return to his past work as an electrical lineman and concluded that his low test scores on educational achievement "presented a dire voc...

The court in Jenson v Cummins Filtration-Lake Mills , No. 13-1733 (Iowa App. Jan. 14, 2015) affirmed an award of benefits for a back injury, and the penalty benefits associated with that award. The court also affirmed the denial of claimant's knee claim. Claimant appealed the denial of the knee claim and also argued that the district court entered a judgment not in conformance with the commissioner's award regarding the back injury. At hearing, the deputy concluded that claimant had failed to meet her burden of proof with respect to the knee claim.  The commissioner affirmed, noting that the deputy's decision was based largely on the deputy's assessment that claimant's testimony was not credible or convincing.  The district court noted that the information on which Dr. Kuhnlein relied for his causation opinion was not correct (as the deputy had found) because claimant was not required to plant her knee in the way stated to Dr. Kuhnlein.  The deputy concluded that ...

In JBS Swift and Company v. Hedberg , No. 14-0565 (Iowa App. Jan. 14, 2015), the Court of Appeals reversed a permanent total disability award, finding that the commissioner's designee, who had increased the award from 80% to PTD, failed to consider important evidence in reaching the PTD conclusion.  Thus, what seems to be a substantial evidence question, for which there was record support, is remanded to the commissioner. Claimant suffered a shoulder injury at work.  He also suffered from preexisting problems of hearing loss and speech problems.  He had worked for 20 years despite these problems.  Claimant left his job with the employer, according to the court, because he was unable to care for himself following the unexpected death of his wife.  Claimant testified that if his wife had not died, he would have stayed in Iowa and continued to work at Swift. Two vocational experts offered reports in the case.  Carma Mitchell found that there was a 69% loss...