Iowa Workers' Compensation

This case began when the Core Group of the Iowa Association for Justice requested the commissioner to enter a declaratory order holding that employers must, under section 85.27(2) of the Iowa Code, provide surveillance materials as a part of normal discovery, and must provide these materials prior to claimant's deposition.  The commissioner found in favor of the Core Group and the Iowa Insurance Institute and others appealed to the district court.  The district court and Court of Appeals affirmed.  In Iowa Insurance Institute et al. v. Core Group etc. and Godfrey , No. 13-1627 (Iowa June 12, 2015), the Supreme Court, in a 5-1 decision , reversed the decision of the commissioner.  The court concludes that the disclosure provisions of section 85.27(2) are "limited to health-care related privileges such as the physician-patient privilege." The court first addressed the procedural mechanism for the grant of a declaratory order under section 17A.9 of the Iowa Code and 8...

The Court of Appeals, in a case that is likely to be heard by the Supreme Court, has held that the Commissioner's Declaratory Order indicating that section 85.27 required the release of surveillance materials once surveillance had been conducted was appropriate.   Iowa Insurance Institute et al. v. Core Group of the Iowa Association for Justice , No. 13-1627 (Oct. 29, 2014).  The court, in a 2-1 decision, found that section 85.27 of the Code, in its requirement that the release of all information was required in a workers' compensation case, encompassed the disclosure of surveillance materials. The declaratory order proceeding had been brought by the Core Group of the Iowa Association for Justice (Core Group) before the commissioner to obtain an order elucidating the commissioner's position on this issue.  The Iowa Insurance Institute and other employer and defense counsel groups intervened in the proceedings at the commissioner level.  An initial question in the c...