In Robertson/Star Building v. Coohey

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This decision is not as strange as it sounds, but the Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner did find the facts “unusual.” In West Ridge

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The Iowa Court of Appeals considered a difficult case, Teen Challenge v. Pauler, where a 44-year-old man who was going through drug treatment was found not to be an employee, while repairing a building to

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In an Appeal Decision filed in late July, 2009, Cave

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While limiting its ruling to the specific facts of this case, the Iowa Court of Appeals ruled in late July, 2009, that an employer could refuse to pay the ordered award to the injured worker while an appeal is pending.

By H. Edwin Detlie

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In its opinion in Eaton Corporation v. Branson, filed June 17, 2009, the Iowa Court of Appeals found that the employer was not entitled to specific enforcement of what they claimed was a legally enfo

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In the 1990s and up to 2004, the Iowa Supreme Court had held that an employer might be responsible for the impact of a previous work injury, even if it had happened at another employer. That string of decisions had upset employers, and in 2004, the Iowa General Assembly changed the workers’ compensation st

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For decades, advocates for employers and workers have argued over whether certain conditions were occupational disease or a work injury – for instance, carpal tunnel syndrome. In a case published in July of 2009, in Burre

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The Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner’s Office has provided a new tool for attorneys to find the workers’ compensation carrier for any employer as of any recent injury date. The information can be reached by going to By H. Edwin Detlie

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In Baker v. Shields, 2009 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 54, the Iowa Supreme Court ch

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Although it mostly slipped past the press, the Iowa General Assembly passed a light-night bill just before they adjourned for the year. The standings bill is traditionally passed at the very last minute of every session, and includes lots of bills that did not quite make it during regular session. This year, the st

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A decision of the Iowa Court of Appeals that was filed in August of 2008 has now been published. While much of the decision is routine, one portion of the decision is interesting.

By H. Edwin Detlie

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In Bridge v. Karr Tuckpointing, issued March 11, 2009, the Iowa Court of Appeals reversed the Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner, and held th

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Once again, the Iowa General Assembly is being asked to consider who should choose treating doctors for injured workers. For many years, insurance carriers in Iowa have been able to tell injured workers what doctors they can see for treatment. By H. Edwin Detlie

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In a long opinion, the Iowa Supreme Court reaffirmed their previous rulings on figuring injury dates and on calculating the time a claimant has to file a Petition with the Iowa workers’ compensation claim. This case involved a woman who had worked

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The Iowa Court of Appeals has once more attempted to address the issue of positional risk, but has come out with an outcome which contradicts their decision from ten months ago, in April of 2008.

By H. Edwin Detlie

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As a candidate, Senator Barack Obama issued a white paper on the need to redesign the process for Social Security Disability and SSI applications.  The comments are found in a lengthy Obama Disability Plan Fact Sheet.

By H. Edwin Detlie

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The Iowa Supreme Court recently held that a woman who filed a Petition for Arbitration with the Iowa Workers' Compensation Commissioner's Office more than two years after the injury, beyond the statute of limitations, had filed a timely Petition, since she did not learn that the injury was serious until the statute had run. See By H. Edwin Detlie

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In a ruling that affirmed the Iowa Workers' Compensation Commissioner, the Iowa Supreme Court held that a wrist injury should be treated as an injury to the arm, rather than an injury to the hand. See Holstein Electric and Integrity Mutual v. Breyflogle.

By H. Edwin Detlie

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This topic sounds boring, but it is an attempt to address real mistreatment and neglect of employees by some unscrupulous Iowa employers that results in thousands of injured workers being stuck without health care or income when injured at work.

On July 16, 2008, Governor Chet Culver signed Executive Order Number Eight to address the injustice and to level the playing field for honest employers. Some employers all over the United States play the same game, calling employees "ind

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This is a Constitutional Law case, in the workers' compensation arena. On June 20, 2008, in Godfrey v. State of Iowa, the Iowa Supreme Court refused to consider a challenge to a recent change in the Iowa Workers' Compensation statute, holding that the person challenging the

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After a lot of effort and some frustrating setbacks, the Iowa Workers' Compensation Commissioner's Office is moving closer to an electronic filing and case management system. The Commissioner has submitted a proposal for a system similar to the Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation. The Commissioner recently remarked that the new "paperless" system will be accessible through any computer with internet access.

While the system will be "designed to make paper fili

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In two decisions filed on May 29, 2008, one by the Iowa Supreme Court and one by the Iowa Court of Appeals, injured workers were allowed to report a work injury beyond the normal 90-day statutory limit for reporting work injuries.

In The Dexter Company v. Connelly, the claimant sustained a low back injury at work on April 16, 2003, and reported it in August, 2003, after he saw a neurosurgeon. While the Iowa Supreme Court found that the discovery rule required specific facts to

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