Supreme Court Decision in Gregory v. Second Injury Fund
In Gregory v. Second Injury Fund , 775 N.W.2d 395 (Iowa 2010), the court addressed a number of issues that arise repeatedly in Fund cases which had not been addressed previously by the appellate courts. In Gregory , claimant suffered a first injury to both arms (bilateral carpal tunnel). At the same time she had bilateral injuries to her shoulders resulting in subacromial decompressions and distal clavicle excisions in both shoulders. She later fractured her right foot, and filed an action against the Fund. The workers' compensation commissioner concluded that an action against the Fund was not appropriate because Ms. Gregory's injuries extended beyond her extremities and into the body. The commissioner found that since this was a body as a whole injury, Fund benefits were not appropriate. The court noted that the Fund was conceived to encourage the employment of disabled persons by making the current employer responsible only for the disability the current employer c...