Iowa Workers' Compensation

In Streit v. Streit Construction, No. 19-0615 (Iowa App. Nov. 4, 2020), claimant alleged that the MRSA from which he suffered occurred as a result of cuts and bruises he had suffered at work.  Claimant was originally found to have sustained a work injury as a result of the cuts and scrapes he suffered at work.  The commissioner reversed, concluding that the medical evidence demonstrated that claimant had not demonstrated an injury arising out of and in the course of employment.  On judicial review, the court concluded that the agency had applied the standards for occupational disease under Chapter 85A rather than the standard for other injuries under Chapter 85.  According to the court, claimant did not need to demonstrate that exposure to harmful conditions at work led to the MRSA diagnosis. On remand, the commissioner affirmed, finding that the MRSA condition did not arise out of and in the course of employment.  The commissioner noted that there was no eviden...

The Burress case involved a claimant with brucellosis, which was contracted by exposure to hog blood. The Supreme Court concluded that brucellosis, despite being specifically mentioned in Chapter 85A, was an injury under Chapter 85 in Mr. Burress' case. IBP, Inc. v. Burress , 779 NW2d 210 (Iowa 2010). According to the court, an injury has its origin in a specific identifiable trauma or series of such occurrences. A disease, which is compensable under Chapter 85A, originates from a source that is neither traumatic nor physical. The court engaged in an extensive discussion of the types of diseases that are occupational diseases and not injuries. They noted that in other states, the contraction of brucellosis had been found to be "an accidental injury rather than an occupational disease. The court relied on the findings of the hearing deputy that Mr. Burress' exposures were most likely due to a cut on his hands and exposure to blood that was "sudden, traumatic...