Iowa Workers' Compensation

Mullen v. Grettenberg , No. 14-1699 (Iowa App. Oct. 14, 2015), involved a situation where an employee of a grain elevator (Mullen) died as a result of an accident in a grain bin.  Grettenberg was the sole proprietor of the business and was also alleged to be a supervisor and co-employee.  Mullen's estate argued that because Grettenberg was a co-employee and supervisor, the workers' compensation statute was not the exclusive remedy for recovery under section 85.20 of the statute.  Grettenberg argued that he was the employer, and thus the exclusive remedy was under the workers' compensation statute. The district court ruled in favor of Grettenberg, finding that a sole proprietor who works alongside his employee should be deemed an employer for purposes of a gross negligence statute.   See Henrich v. Lorenz , 448 N.W.2d 327, 331 (Iowa 1989);   Tigges v. City of Ames , 356 N.W.2d 503, 509 (Iowa 1984). The court found that the district court had correctly addressed...

In another example of how difficult it is to successfully pursue a gross negligence claim, the Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of such a claim in Whitacre v. Brown , No. 1-509 (Iowa App. Oct. 19, 2011).  Plaintiff had been taught to clean the rollers on a machine in a certain manner, and this same technique for cleaning the machine had been used in the past without incident.  A Manual that was in proximity to the machine advised workers not to put their hands by the revolving rolls and not to wipe the rollers while they were turning.  The Manual's instructions were contrary to the method in which plaintiff was instructed, in which the rollers were cleaned while they were turning.  Mr. Whitacre was injured using the cleaning procedures he had been taught. Whitacre filed against defendants based on gross negligence, and his claim was dismissed on summary judgment by the district court because he had not demonstrated any of the elements of gross negligence....