Iowa Workers' Compensation

Kraft Heinz Co. v. Bynum , No. 23-0045 (Iowa App. Feb. 7, 2024) Claimant was initially employed with Kraft through a temporary employment agency.  Claimant was hired by Kraft in January of 2019.  In early February, claimant was diagnosed with a hernia and he notified the employer of his problems and need for surgery.  Following his return to work, he continued to have pain, was taken off work and received short term disability benefits.  Claimant wrote a letter to the employer in June of 2019 indicating that he had told numerous people at work about his injury and felt he should be receving workers' compensation benefits.  The commissioner concluded that the employer failed to prove that it did not receive timely notice as "it had not rebutted credible testimony that Bynum had informed multiple supervisors of the injury within the ninety-day period."  The district court concluded that substantial evidence supported the commissioner's decision. On appeal, th...

In John Deere Davenport Works v. Dickerson , No. 20-0658 (Iowa App. April 14, 2021), the agency found that defendant failed to establish a notice defense.  Claimant had filled out what was called a "near miss report" in which he noted he hit his head on a fixture.  Defendant argued that this statement lacked any claim that he was hurt or damaged.  The agency rejected the notice defense under 85.23(1).   The district court affirmed, finding that the statute does not require require that claimant provide the precise nature of claimant's injury, citing Alm v. Morris Barrick Cattle Co., 38 N.W.2d 161 (Iowa 1949).  The district court discussed the "near miss" report in detail and concluded that "when an employee physically strikes his head and determines that the incident warrants the completion and submission of a written report, an employer is fairly put on notice that the employee was likely in some degree of pain."  The district court found that the not...