IOWA WORKERS’ COMPENSATION RATE INCREASES EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2024

by Baylor Evnen, LLP | Jul 15, 2024 | BLOG, IOWA WORKERS' COMPENSATION, WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

Effective July 1, 2024, the Iowa Workers’ Compensation Statewide Average Weekly Wage (SAWW) will rise to $1,137.20. The minimum and maximum weekly workers’ compensation rates are calculated using the SAWW. This is an increase from the previous year’s rate of $1,099.55. Additionally, effective July 1, 2024, the Iowa Workers’ Compensation Maximum Weekly Rate for TTD, […]

BILATERAL SHOULDER INJURIES HELD TO BE TWO SEPARATE SCHEDULED MEMBER INJURIES IN IOWA

by Baylor Evnen, LLP | May 10, 2024 | BLOG, IOWA WORKERS' COMPENSATION, WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

On May 8, 2024, the Iowa Court of Appeals found that bilateral shoulder injuries are not compensated under the catchall provision and are, instead, two separate scheduled member injuries. In Nordstrom v. Pamela Cramer, the Iowa Court of Appeals found that injuries to the left and the right shoulders both arising out of the same […]

MAJOR CHANGES IN IOWA FOR HOW MULTIPLE SCHEDULED MEMBER INJURIES ARE COMPENSATED

by Baylor Evnen, LLP | Mar 29, 2024 | BLOG, IOWA WORKERS' COMPENSATION, WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

On March 29, 2024, Iowa’s Supreme Court handed down an opinion in Anderson v. Bridgestone Americas, Inc. The seminal issue in the case had to do with how to compensate an employee who sustained both an arm and shoulder injury. Under the July 1, 2017 changes to the Iowa Workers’ Compensation Act, a shoulder is […]

RECENT IOWA APPELLATE CASELAW IMPACTING WC STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS AND NOTICE DEFENSE

by Baylor Evnen, LLP | Feb 16, 2024 | BLOG, IOWA WORKERS' COMPENSATION, WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

The Iowa Supreme Court recently decided Tweeten v. Tweeten, No. 22-2081 (December 22, 2023) and Tyler v. Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., No. 23-0393 (February 7, 2024), cases with significant impact on application of the statute of limitations under Iowa Code section 85.26 and the notice provision of section 85.23. The Claimant in Tweeten worked for […]

IOWA SUPREME COURT INTERPRETS IME REIMBURSEMENT FEES UNDER SECTION 85.39(2)

by Baylor Evnen, LLP | Feb 13, 2024 | BLOG, IOWA WORKERS' COMPENSATION, WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

In Mid American Construction, LLC v. Sandlin, the Iowa Supreme Court held that under Section 85.39(2), an employee is entitled to the reasonable cost of an entire examination accompanying a physician’s determination of the employee’s impairment rating, not just the component cost of the impairment rating itself. Additionally, the Court held that agency factfinding must […]

ADVERSE SIDE EFFECTS FROM COVID-19 VACCINE FOUND NOT COMPENSABLE IN IOWA

by Baylor Evnen, LLP | Feb 3, 2024 | BLOG, IOWA WORKERS' COMPENSATION, WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

In a recent holding from the Commissioner in Driscoll v. City of Cedar Rapids, the Commissioner overturned a previous finding that an employee’s adverse reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine was a compensable injury. The initial Deputy decision found that the employee was “strongly” encouraged by his employer to get the COVID-19 vaccine at the height […]