Court of Appeals Decides Alternate Medical Care Dispute
In Spencer v. Annett Holdings, Inc. , No. 11-1032 (Iowa App. March 28, 2012), the court of appeals addressed an alternate medical care issue involving the choice of physician when the treating physician retired. The hearing deputy had concluded that the employer was allowed to choose the provider, despite the fact that the treating (authorized) physician had made a referral to another physician. On judicial review, the district court reversed, and concluded that the retiring physician's recommendation of a new physician should be followed. The court of appeals reverses the finding of the district court. At the district court level, claimant argued that under a long line of agency precedent, if there is a referral by an authorized treating physician, the physician to whom the referral is made becomes the authorized treater. The district court accepted that argument. The court of appeals adopted the deputy's argument that the treating physician was not maki...