Court of Appeals Affirms Permanent Total Disability Award
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...