Iowa Workers' Compensation

Defendants in O'Reilly Auto Parts v. Kuder , No. 15-0890 (Iowa App. Sept. 14, 2016), filed an appeal of the commissioner's decision refusing to reopen a permanent total disability award.  Defendants claimed that the commissioner committed legal error when considering whether Kuder's economic circumstances had changed, applied an improper burden of proof and reached his decision without support of substantial evidence. Defendants had filed the review reopening action within one month of the appeal decision finding permanent total disability.  Claimant was working part time at the time of the decision granting PTD benefits, but later lost that job when he moved to a smaller community.  Defendants' vocational expert opined that claimant, who had a shoulder injury, had an industrial loss, but that there were many jobs for which claimant was qualified, even with restrictions.  The deputy found that claimant was just as disabled as he was at the time of the original arbi...

In Polaris Industries v. Hesby , No. 15-0629 (Iowa App. Feb. 10, 2016), the Court of Appeals addressed the issue of whether the defendant had presented sufficient evidence to justify a credit for prior injuries that occurred to claimant while working with the same employer.  The agency had concluded that no satisfaction of the employer's obligations was due because the employer failed to produce sufficient evidence to justify the credit.  The district court reversed, finding that claimant had acknowledged payment of at least 30 weeks of benefits and also noting that a prior hip injury had also resulted in payment of industrial disability. On appeal, the court remanded, finding that the agency's conclusion that claimant had not received permanency benefits was not supported by substantial evidence.  The court also remanded for consideration of payments made for claimant's 2009 hip injury, which had not all been paid out at the time of the decision in this case, which inv...

In PMX Industries v. Reich , No. 12-1824 (Iowa App. May 30, 2013), the court addressed issues of tinnitus and hearing loss in a workers' compensation setting, and addressed the issue of when notice had to be provided for a tinnitus claim.  Claimant was a long time worker for PMX, which was an admittedly noisy facility.  Claimant testified that although he wore hearing protection, he would often have to remove the hearing protection in order to hear people talking within the plant. In 2008 he was diagnosed with a hearing loss and resigned from his employment. The doctor who addressed the hearing loss issues for the employer, Dr. Taylor, found that claimant had a 2.2% bilateral hearing loss.  Claimant was referred to Dr. Marlan Hansen at the University of Iowa, who agreed that claimant had noise-induced hearing loss.  Claimant was then referred to Dr. Plakke, who noted hearing loss, but indicated that because of the continued loss of hearing after he left PMX, this w...