Court of Appeals Affirms Denial of Benefits on Substantial Evidence Grounds
Spence v N&L Parkison Trucking, Inc. , No. 23-0144 (Iowa App. Oct. 25, 2023) Claimant filed a workers' compensation claim alleging that he suffered a shoulder injury at work. The doctors who he saw related to the injury found that claimant had a rotator cuff injury, but noted claimant had related them to the pain in his shoulder from an earlier two weeks earlier. An IME related claimant's injury to the work events and provided him with a 12% impairment to the body as a whole as a result of the injury. The deputy found claimant was not credible in part due to his past crimes of dishonesty and denied benefits and the commissioner affirmed. The district court affirmed the decision of the agency. The Court of Appeals rejected claimant's argument that the decision of the commissioner was not supported by substantial evidence. The Court noted that due regard must be given to the commissioner discretion to accept or reject testimony based on witness cre...