Workplace Accidents

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You may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits if you have been injured while performing your employment duties.

Workplace accidents are a common occurrence. In 2003, 4.4 million workplace injuries and illnesses among private sector firms were reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). There were 5,559 worker deaths in 2003. Many of these injuries and deaths could have been prevented. While employers are generally responsible for paying workers compensation to injured or killed workers, third parties such as product manufacturers, other employers, or other persons not employed by the same entity can be held accountable for acts of negligence in a court of law. To learn about your legal options after you have been injured or lost a family member in an Iowa workplace accident, contact Olson Law Office, P.C. (Make link to Contact Us Page)

Our Des Moines personal injury attorneys have extensive experience representing Iowans who have been hurt as a result of the negligence of others. Our lawyers have taken numerous cases to appeal, including all the way to the Supreme Court. We understand where to look for liable third parties and possible sources of compensation in the event of a serious accident causing injury at a workplace. We know how critical it is to undertake a thorough investigation to learn whether a third party’s negligence was the cause of an accident.

Well qualified personal injury lawyers at Olson Law Office, P.C., have the experience and the resources necessary to pursue the maximum available recovery for injured workers or passersby. When necessary, we bring in experts such as the following:

• OSHA experts from Washington, D.C.
• Damage experts
• Vocational experts
• Experts in products such as equipment or tools involved in accidents

As zealous advocates of Iowans who have been injured on the job, Olson Law Office, P.C., will not rest until the strongest argument has been made. Full compensation for our clients and, wherever possible, new hope for injury victims and their families, is our objective.

Schedule a free initial consultation with Olson Law Office P.C., to discuss your workplace accident, your injuries, and your legal options.

Workers’ Compensation

Workers’ compensation is different from a personal injury lawsuit. Workers’ compensation is an administrative procedure involving the state, the workers’ compensation lawyers representing the injured employee, the injured employee, and the employer and the employer’s legal representative. Because this is an administrative procedure as opposed to litigation, the rules governing a workers’ compensation case differ greatly from that of a personal injury lawsuit.

Usually, employees who are injured on the job cannot choose between applying for workers’ compensation and initiating a personal injury lawsuit. The injured employee must apply for workers’ compensation to receive monetary compensation for his or her injury. Further, the amount of money received is dictated by statute, as opposed to being decided upon by a judge or jury as in the case of a personal injury lawsuit.

A benefit to the employee that workers’ compensation offers is that employees who are eligible for workers’ compensation do not need to prove negligence or fault on the part of their employer in order to be awarded monetary compensation. Because the employee does not have to prove negligence or fault, the time involved to finalize a workers’ compensation procedure is typically significantly less than with a personal injury lawsuit.
Not all employees are eligible for workers’ compensation. For example, some state and federal government employees may be exempt from workers’ compensation benefits. Further, not all workplace injuries are covered by workers’ compensation.

If you have been injured in conjunction with your job, even if you were not on your employer’s property at the time of the injury, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation. Contact the Olson Law Office, P.C. to schedule a free case evaluation.

Iowa Workers’ Compensation Law

Iowa Workers’ Compensation law was created by the legislature as a special way of handling claims of injured employees against their employers. Iowa Workers’ Compensation is a system for arriving at a just settlement for injuries sustained by an employee. In place of a matter being brought in district court, the office of the Workers’ Compensation Commissioner was created with exclusive authority to determine the questions involved. The Iowa Workers’ Compensation law does not create a claim for damages, but provides for compensation based upon a certain percentage of the wages being earned.

Iowa Workers’ Compensation law requires most employers to provide wage loss and medical benefits to employees who are injured while working. In general, most employees who are injured while working in Iowa are eligible for benefits. Employees who are hired in Iowa or whose employment is principally based in Iowa may be eligible for benefits, even if they are injured outside of the state. Unless your employer has actual notice of your injury, you are required under Iowa law to give the employer notice that you have been injured at work within 90 days of its occurrence.

An injury arising out of and occurring in the course of employment entitles the injured worker to reasonable and necessary medical care. The employer has the right to choose the medical care. If you are dissatisfied with the care, you should discuss the problem with your employer or its workers’ compensation insurance carrier. You can request alternate medical care. If your employer or the insurance carrier does not agree to your request for alternate care, you may file a petition for alternate medical care before the Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner.

Medical benefits under Iowa Workers’ Compensation law also include reimbursement for reasonable and necessary travel expenses. Under certain circumstances, if you are required to leave work for medical treatment, you may receive payment for lost wages.

Under Iowa Workers’ Compensation law, you may be entitled to disability benefits. The amount of these benefits is based on the weekly rate of compensation, often referred to as your workers’ compensation rate. As a general rule, your workers’ compensation rate is 80% of your “average weekly spendable earnings” at the time of the injury. The law defines spendable earnings as the amount remaining after payroll taxes are deducted from gross weekly earnings. The rate does not change, even though wages may go up or down after the injury. Overtime pay is not included in figuring the gross earnings of a claimant.

The disability benefits to which you may be entitled to under Iowa Workers’ Compensation law include temporary disability and permanent disability benefits.

Temporary disability benefits generally fall into three categories. Temporary total disability (TTD) begins when you are off work for more than three days because of an injury. You are entitled to TTD benefits beginning on the fourth day, and continuing until you return to work or are medically recovered enough to return to similar work, whichever occurs first. If you are off work for more than 14 calendar days, you may be entitled to payment for the three-day waiting period. Temporary partial disability benefits (TPD) occur if you return to work at a lesser paying job because of your injury. The benefit amount is 66-2/3% of the difference between your average gross weekly earnings when injured and your actual earnings while you are temporarily working at a lesser paying job. The three-day waiting period also applies to TPD. Another type of temporary disability is healing period (HP) benefits. As a practical matter, HP benefits are the same as TTD benefits. You may be entitled to HP while recovering from an injury at that results in a permanent impairment. These benefits begin on the first calendar day after the date of the injury and continue until the first of the following occurs: (1) you return to work; (2) you have recovered as much as anticipated from the injury; or (3) you are medically capable of returning to the same type of work you did before injured.

Benefits for permanent injuries include permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits. These benefits apply when your work injury results in a permanent functional impairment to your body or in your inability to earn wages similar to those you earned before your injury. PPD benefits are in addition to healing period benefits and begin when the healing period ends. There are two types of PPD benefits. The first is scheduled member disability. If your injury is to a scheduled member, your PPD benefits are based on a functional impairment. Scheduled member injuries include the following:

If your impairment is less than a full loss, the number of weeks of PPD benefits you receive is a percentage of loss or loss of use multiplied by the full number of weeks for the member. For example, a knee injury, which results in a 10% impairment to the leg, would entitle you to 22 weeks of PPD benefits (10% x. 220). The treating physician generally determines the “impairment rating”. If you wish a second opinion with regard to the impairment rating, one can be obtained at the employer’s cost.

Injuries that are not scheduled member injuries are often termed body as a whole injuries. Examples of body as a whole injuries include neck, back, shoulder and spinal injuries. Mental injuries also fall under the body as a whole category. When your work injury results in a permanent disability to a part of the body not included as a scheduled member, the disability is considered industrial rather than only functional, and is determined by assessing the difference between what you were able to earn prior to the injury and what you are able to earn after the injury. Some people refer to this as loss of earning capacity. Even if you return to work at the same job, you may be entitled to industrial disability, if your injury has lessened your overall earning capacity. A variety of factors are included in determining industrial disability. These factors include your age, work experience, educational background, your functional impairment and work restrictions, as well as other factors are considered when determining industrial disability.
No specific guidelines advise how any factor is to be considered in any particular case. Each industrial disability case must be decided on its facts. Industrial disability is calculated on a 500-week basis, with the percentage rating multiplied by 500 weeks.

Another type of permanent disability benefit is permanent total disability (PTD). If your work injury leaves you incapable of returning to any type of wage-earning employment, you may be entitled to PTD during the time you cannot return to any gainful work.

Death benefits are also available under workers’ compensation law. If you are dependent upon someone who has died as a result of a work injury, you may be eligible to receive death benefits. A surviving spouse can receive death benefits for life or until remarriage. Dependent children are also entitled to death benefits until age 18, or if actually dependent until age 25. Other persons can qualify for death benefits if they were actually dependent on the deceased worker. In addition to the weekly death benefits, the deceased worker’s employer or its insurance carrier must pay burial expenses of up to $5,000.

Many, if not most, workers’ compensation claims are settled. The Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner must approve all settlements involving a work injury. Generally, Iowa law allows for four different types of settlements:

1. 1. Compromise Special Case Settlement. A compromise settlement is possible when you, your employer and its insurance carrier disagree as to whether you are entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits. An approved compromise settlement ends any rights to future weekly benefits or medical benefits for the settled injury. Your settlement is paid on a lump-sum basis.
   2. Agreement for Settlement. An agreement for settlement is a voluntary agreement between you, your employer and its insurance carrier as to the amount and type of compensation benefits you are currently due. The Workers’ Compensation Commissioner’s approval of an agreement does not injure future rights to additional weekly benefits or additional medical benefits. Generally speaking, agreements for settlement are used when a worker sustains a permanent injury and returns to work to the same or a similar position he or she had at the time of the injury.
   3. Full Commutation. A full commutation pays all future benefits in one lump sum. Because an approved full commutation ends all rights to additional weekly or medical benefits, you must show that you have a specific need for a full benefit payment now and that such a lump-sum payment is in your best interest. A full commutation means that your future benefits are generally discounted to their present value. The discount can, however, be waived by your employer and its workers’ compensation insurance carrier.
   4. Partial Commutation. A partial commutation pays a part of remaining future weekly benefits in a lump sum. An approved partial commutation contains your, your employer’s and workers’ compensation insurance carrier’s agreement that you are entitled to disability benefits. It does not end your right to future weekly or medical benefits.

Iowa has a two-tiered statute of limitations that applies to workers’ compensation claims. Generally speaking, you must receive Iowa workers’ compensation benefits or file an application for arbitration with the Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner, along with the applicable filing fee, within two years of your injury or benefits may be denied.

If you have received Iowa workers’ compensation benefits, you have three years from the last payment of the weekly benefits to receive additional benefits voluntarily or file a contested case proceeding for benefits. Receiving medical benefits alone does not extend the statute. If you do not file within the three-year period, you may be denied additional weekly benefits. In general, it is best to contact an attorney specializing in workers’ compensation and ask regarding the applicable statute of limitations.

The attorneys of Olson Law Office, P.C. represent employees who are injured on the job in claims for lost wages, medical expenses, and partial and total disability against private employers and their workers compensation insurance carriers. Closely related to the workers compensation field is the employment practice area. Because retaliatory discharge or wrongful termination for other employment-related problems often is a pretext for a worker filing a workers compensation claim, our attorneys work closely together to respond to all of the client's needs and potential claims.
If you have any questions, or want to speak with a lawyer regarding your injury matter, please do not hesitate to call our Des Moines, Iowa office at (515) 271-9100. If you prefer, you may e-mail us, or fill out the form on the Contact Us page of this website, and a representative from our firm will be in touch with you as soon as possible. We look forward to hearing from you!

Iowa Workers Compensation Manual
Iowa Workers Compensation Guide, Sixth Edition