Idiopathic Fall Legislative Update

Legal Update by Attorney Alison Stewart Governor Reynolds has signed a bill relating to workplace idiopathic falls (SF 507). This bill has become law in response to the 2018 Iowa Supreme Court decision, Bluml v. Long John Silvers, where the Court said there was no blanket rule rendering certai…

Recent Work Comp Decisions by Iowa Court of Appeals

Legal Update by Attorney Alison Stewart Recently, the Iowa Court of Appeals handed down some decisions relating to workers’ compensation. Timely Filing of a Review-Reopening PetitionPella Corp. v. Winn, File No. 17-1545, 2019 WL 156579 (Iowa Ct. App. Jan. 9, 2019) The Iowa Court o…

Iowa Workers' Compensation Commissioner Deputy Applies Upper Extremity Rating to Shoulder

Legal Update by Attorney Alison Stewart In a recent decision by Iowa Workers’ Compensation Deputy Erin Pals, Reiter v. Incorporated City of Remsen, the agency determined it is appropriate to apply the upper extremity functional rating to shoulder injuries now that shoulders have been identifie…

Iowa Supreme Court Reexamines Employer’s Authorization Defense

In a 6-1 decision, the Supreme Court in Brewer-Strong v. HNI Corporation, 913 N.W.2d 235, (Iowa, 2018), held as matter of first impression, an employer could regain control of the employee’s medical care and assert an authorization defense, even though the employer initially denied liabilit…

Iowa Supreme Court Addresses Compensability of Idiopathic Falls

Legal Update by Attorney Alison Stewart On November 16, 2018, the Iowa Supreme Court issued a ruling addressing the compensability of idiopathic falls. Previously the Court said, “The workers’ compensation statute is not a general health insurance policy that extends to all injuries that happe…

Notice of Delay for Start of Workers' Compensation Electronic Filing, Case Management, Hearing Scheduling and EDI System (WCES)

Legal Update by Attorney Alison Stewart The Division of Workers’ Compensation is announcing a delay in the roll-out of WCES, the new electronic filing, case management, hearing scheduling and EDI system for workers’ compensation. The Division had planned to Go-Live on December 3, 2018. It…

Introducing WCES and CourtCall at the Division of Iowa Workers’ Compensation

Legal Update by Attorney Alison Stewart WCES - Workers' Compensation Electronic System  A new electronic filing system is tentatively scheduled to be implemented beginning in December of 2018. The new system will be known as Workers’ Compensation Electronic System, or WCES (pronounced…

Late Settlement Sanction

By order of the Commissioner, beginning July 1, 2018, the Iowa Division of Workers’ Compensation will impose a monetary late settlement sanction on parties in cases where settlements are reported to the Division less than 24 hours before the scheduled start time of the hearing. Settlements …

Calculating the Rate of Compensation – Tips, Tricks and Traps

When an employee has been injured and is entitled to temporary or permanent workers’ compensation benefits, a calculation of the employee’s average weekly wage and rate is required. In order to calculate the rate of compensation, the “gross earnings” of the employee must be determined and then …

Amendment to Iowa’s “Failure to Use Seatbelt Comparative Fault Statute”

Legal Update by Attorney Clarissa Bierstedt On March 15, 2018, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed into law an amendment to Iowa Code Section 321.445. This statute provides in part that a plaintiff’s failure to use a seat belt as required by Iowa law may be admitted as evidence of the pl…

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