Last Updated: 8/3/2023

There are several benefits available in an Iowa Workers' Compensation claim. That being said, if you want to get the most out of your Iowa Workers' Compensation claim, you should meet with a Workers' Compensation attorney. Your attorney will help gauge the cost of your current and future medical needs, rehabilitation needs, and disability needs in order to negotiate for fair compensation.

Workers' Compensation Benefits in Iowa

Benefits for reasonable and necessary medical expenses you have incurred as a result of your work-related injury may be available. In Iowa, it could also include transportation expenses at $0.555 cents per mile when using a privately owned vehicle.Your Iowa Workers' Compensation attorney can help you to seek the Workers' Compensation benefits that are available in Iowa, which include: 

  • Medical benefits - your employer is obligated to pay for reasonable medical care to treat your work injury. This includes travel expenses for treatment and payment for lost wages, under certain conditions, if you must leave work for treatment. If your injury requires some type of therapy, such as physical or occupational, these rehabilitative costs may be covered as well. Vocational rehabilitation could also be available if your injury prevents you from returning to work, which could provide $100 a week for up to 13 weeks.
  • Disability benefits - weekly compensation cannot top 80% of your spendable earnings, which is your pay remaining after taxes. The type of benefits you are qualified to receive depends on whether yours is a permanent (may receive benefits as long as you remain permanently disabled) or temporary disability (provided until you can return to work), and if it’s a partial (you may continue to work while disabled) or total disability (you are unable to work during your disability).
  • Second injury fund benefits - if you have in the past suffered a permanent disability affecting your eye, leg, foot, hand or arm, and then suffered another work injury that led to a permanent disability in another eye, leg, foot, hand or arm you might be eligible for these benefits.
  • Vocational rehabilitation benefits - if you are in a vocational rehabilitation program that may eventually lead to your returning to work, you may be entitled to $100 a week for at least 13 weeks.
  • Death benefits - If a loved one whom you were dependent upon has died in a workplace accident in Iowa, you may be able to receive death benefits. To qualify, you should be a surviving spouse, dependent child or anyone else who was actually dependent on the worker. 


Even after returning to work, you may be eligible to continue receiving benefits. If you return to work and can only handle a less strenuous, lower-paying job, partial disability benefits may pay 66 percent of the difference between current and previous pay. Before you file an Iowa Workers' Compensation claim on your own, you should seriously consider hiring a Workers' Compensation attorney to make sure that your legal rights are protected and improve the odds that you might receive the full extent of Workers' Compensation benefits to which you are entitled.

Contacting an Iowa Workers' Compensation Attorney

The Workers' Compensation attorney team at Walker, Billingsley & Bair work hard to level the field between injured Iowans and insurance companies. That's why we provide this FREE book, Iowa Workers' Compensation - An Insider's Guide to Work Injuries: 7 Deadly Mistakes To Avoid If You Are Hurt At Work. To learn more about what our legal team will do to help you protect your Iowa work injury claim, contact Walker, Billingsley & Bair to schedule a no-cost consultation - (888) 435-9886.

Corey Walker
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With over 28 years legal experience, Corey has been recognized for his work as an injury attorney.