Court of Appeals Affirms Denial of Second Injury Fund Benefits
The Court of Appeals, in Ginther v. Second Injury Fund , No. 17-0867 (Iowa App. June 6, 2018), affirmed the decision of the agency that claimant had not demonstrated a qualifying injury for second injury fund purposes. Claimant's first injury was plantar fasciitis of the right foot. Dr. Sassman had concluded that no ratable impairment existed for plantar fasciitis, but found that a 3% whole person impairment for pain was appropriate. The deputy found that claimant did not have a qualifying first injury because Dr. Sassman's opinion that there was a 3% rating for pain was unconvincing. The deputy also noted that since the rating was to the body as a whole, this was not a qualifying injury for SIF purposes. The commissioner affirmed. The court found that because Dr. Sassman did not find that claimant had suffered a loss of use of the right foot, but had rather provided a whole person rating based on pain, he did not establish that he had lost the use of his...