Iowa Workers' Compensation

In Marten Transportation, Ltd. v. Bowes , No. 13-0528 (Iowa App. April 16, 2014), the court of appeals reversed the decision of the district court, which itself had reversed the commissioner's permanent total disability award. Claimant was a truck driver, who injured her back and elbow when she fell from her truck.  Claimant sought industrial disability, but did not rely on the odd lot doctrine in attempting to determine the extent of her injury.  In the arbitration decision, the deputy cited to a case which referenced the odd lot doctrine.  The deputy concluded that claimant was unable to perform a sufficient quantity and quality of work to remain employed in a well-established branch of the labor market.  Defendants appealed, and the commissioner affirmed. On rehearing, defendants claimed that the commissioner had erroneously applied the odd lot doctrine.  The commissioner stated that the  odd lot doctrine had not been considered, either at the arbitrat...

In Gits Mfg. v. Frank , 855 NW2d 195 (Iowa 2014), the Supreme Court once again noted that the determination evidentiary issues, including medical causation and the extent of industrial disability, is within the peculiar province of the commissioner, and absent unusual circumstances, should be determinative on appellate review.  In doing so, the court reversed the decision of the Court of Appeals, which had concluded that substantial evidence did not support the finding of permanent and total disability. The agency concluded that claimant was permanently and totally disabled under the odd lot rule.  This determination was reversed by the Court of Appeals, which concluded that substantial evidence did not support the agency's finding.  The Supreme Court noted that substantial evidence supports an agency's decision even if the interpretation of the evidence may be open to a fair difference of opinion, citing Arndt v. City of LeClaire , 728 N.W.2d 389, 393 (Iowa 2007). Th...

In Con-E-C v. Nowatzke , No. 14-0470 (Iowa App. Oct. 1, 2014), the court of appeals affirmed a finding of permanent total disability based on substantial evidence.  The court, in its initial statement of the case notes that review of final agency action is "severely circumscribed", that nearly all disputes are won or lost at the agency level, that judgment calls are within the province of the agency, and that it is the commissioner and not the courts, that weight the evidence and assesses credibility. Claimant suffered a low back injury while working for the employer.  The agency concluded that the injury was causally related to claimant's work and concluded that claimant was an odd lot worker.  The court ultimately affirms the agency based on the district court's thorough and well-reasoned ruling, without additional analysis.  Citing Iowa Ct. R. 21.26.

In GITS Manufacturing Co. v. Frank , No. 13-0665 (Iowa App. Jan. 9, 2014), the Court of Appeals, taking a very aggressive stance on substantial evidence, concluded that the commissioner's finding that claimant was an odd lot employee was not supported by substantial evidence, largely because claimant had not sought other employment following her injury. Claimant suffered a cumulative lung injury from her work as a welder at GITS.  The evidence demonstrated that claimant was limited to sedentary work, and the deputy concluded that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that she could complete job retraining and go back to work at her age and with her physical condition.  The deputy found that claimant was an odd lot employee, and this finding was affirmed on appeal., and by the district court. The court noted that the issue before it was whether the decision of the agency was supported by substantial evidence.  The court first addressed the odd lot doctrine, an...

In Annett Holdings v. Allen , No. 12-0388 (Iowa App. Oct. 17, 2012), the court of appeals addressed a suitable work issue in the trucking context, as the Supreme Court had earlier done in Neal v. Annett Holdings , 814 N.W.2d 512 (Iowa 2012).   Allen involved the same trucking company, with the same light duty program in Des Moines as had been the case in Neal .  The primary difference in Allen was that claimant lived in Mississippi, and was over 800 miles away from home.  He declined to perform light duty work in Iowa, and the court concluded that the work offered was not suitable.  The court concluded that the distance traveled to the proposed light duty work was unreasonable, given the distance involved, claimant's cervical fusion, the restriction on the amount of time he could sit, and other physical limitations.  The court affirmed the agency, and reversed the district court in awarding healing period benefits. The court also addressed the finding that cla...

In Kent v. Diamond Shine Management Services, Inc. , No. 11-1041 (Iowa App. April 25, 2012), the Court of Appeals reiterated the importance of the substantial evidence standard in judicial review actions.  Mr. Kent had suffered injury to his bilateral shoulders, resulting in a 6% BAW rating to one shoulder, and a 4% BAW rating to the other shoulder, according to the IME doctor. Work restrictions were in the 40 pound occasional lifting category.  Claimant presented evidence that his reading and math skills were consistent with students in the upper elementary level.  Claimant also presented evidence from a vocational expert that he was unable to perform any activity in the labor market.  Following the end of the discovery period, claimant moved to add an odd lot claim, which was rejected by the hearing deputy. At the time of hearing, claimant was working, but had suffered a loss of income from $12.00 per hour to $7.50 per hour and was working only part-time.  Def...

In Western Provisions v. Betz , No. 1-533 (Iowa App. Sept. 21, 2011), the court of appeals affirmed the decision of the agency that claimant was permanently totally disabled, and that permanent total disability benefits were appropriate under the odd lot doctrine.  Claimant was a truck driver who was injured when another vehicle crashed into him. Claimant had neck and back surgery as a result of the work injury.  Following these surgeries, an FCE placed him in the "modified medium" work category.  Claimant was provided with a 25% impairment rating to the neck and a 21% impairment rating to the back.  The restrictions imposed by the treating physician (40 pounds) precluded claimant from performing his former job. Vocational specialists were hired by both parties.  Defendants' expert (Michelle Holtz) did not meet with claimant, and found that he retained the skills and capabilities for jobs paying from $8.00 to $14.50.  Claimant's expert (Rick Ostrander) fo...

This Court of Appeals case, decided on February 9, 2011, addresses an issue of permanent total disability.  Although the commissioner found that claimant had sustained permanent total disability based on an odd lot theory, the district court reversed, finding that the claimant had failed to demonstrate that his injury was work related and also failed to prove he was an odd lot employee.  The Court of Appeals reverses, concluding that the district court improperly weighed the evidence in overruling the finding that claimant had not established a work related injury.  The court also affirmed the odd lot finding of the commissioner. The evidence demonstrated that claimant reached for pieces of a door while at work, and caught his right leg on a torn fatigue mat, feeling a stinging sensation in his hip. Claimant did not immediately report the incident, and worked the next day.  On the second day after his accident, he saw a PA, but the records do not note a work accide...