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- Creston Workers Compensation Attorneys
- Phone: 641-792-3595
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A workplace injury can change everything overnight. The pain is real, the bills begin arriving quickly, and the workers' compensation system places an injured worker in the middle of a process that is far more complicated than it first appears. If you have been hurt on the job near Creston, Iowa, understanding how permanent partial disability benefits are calculated, what rights you have when it comes to your medical care, and how to respond when your employer offers light duty work are three of the most consequential things you can know before making any decisions that affect your claim.
Permanent Partial Disability in Iowa: What Are You Entitled To?
If you suffered a permanent but not complete disability on the job, you may qualify for permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits under Iowa's workers' compensation law. The amount and duration of benefits you are entitled to depend specifically on which part of your body sustained the injury. When your healing period benefits end, you will begin receiving one of two types of PPD benefits: scheduled or unscheduled. The distinction between the two is significant and has a direct effect on how much compensation you ultimately receive.
Scheduled Member Disabilities
The Iowa Division of Workers' Compensation uses Appendix A, a list of scheduled body members, to determine a worker's PPD benefit amount for injuries to specific parts of the body. This schedule provides clear guidelines for the number of weeks of benefits you are eligible to receive based on which body part was permanently affected. If you lose complete function of a listed body part, you receive benefits for the full duration listed. If you lose only partial function, for example fifty percent of the use of your arm, you receive benefits for half the allotted time.
The scheduled body members and their corresponding maximum benefit weeks under Iowa law are as follows:
| Body Member | Maximum Weeks of Benefits |
|---|---|
| Loss of thumb | 60 weeks |
| Loss of first finger | 35 weeks |
| Loss of second finger | 30 weeks |
| Loss of third finger | 25 weeks |
| Loss of fourth finger | 20 weeks |
| Loss of hand | 190 weeks |
| Loss of arm | 250 weeks |
| Loss of great toe | 40 weeks |
| Loss of any other toe | 15 weeks |
| Loss of foot | 150 weeks |
| Loss of leg | 220 weeks |
| Loss of eye | 140 weeks |
| Loss of hearing in one ear | 50 weeks |
| Loss of hearing in both ears | 175 weeks |
| Permanent disfigurement, face or head | 150 weeks |
| Body as a whole / industrial disability | 500 weeks |
Unscheduled Disabilities: When the Injury Affects More Than a Listed Member
Unlike injuries that fall under the state's schedule, which assign specific compensatory periods to designated body parts, unscheduled losses cover a broader range of injuries that may affect multiple body parts or the body as a whole. Injuries to the hips, shoulders, back, and neck all fall under unscheduled disabilities. Rather than applying a fixed benefit period, the Workers' Compensation board calculates PPD benefits according to the degree to which the disability affects an injured worker's earning capacity.
This calculation requires consideration of a wide range of factors. The board looks at how the injury affected your earnings, your medical history, the duration of your healing period, your work experience prior to the injury, and your potential for rehabilitation. Your qualifications including your intellectual background, educational level, emotional state, physical condition, age, and motivation are all weighed. The degree of functional impairment your injury has caused, any earnings you have lost as a result of changing jobs to accommodate your injury, and your inability to perform work you are otherwise suited for are also part of the analysis.
It is important to understand that there is no rigid formula specifying exactly how each of these factors is applied to reach a disability rating. That leaves a meaningful degree of discretion in the insurer's hands. If your rating feels far lower than what your injury actually warrants, contacting a Creston workers' compensation attorney is the right next step. For more detail on how industrial disability ratings are determined, visit the Iowa work injury practice area at iowainjured.com.
Challenging a Disability Rating That Is Not Fair
If your workers' compensation claim has been denied, or if a doctor has assigned you a lower disability rating than your injury justifies, your attorney can guide you through the negotiations and appeals process. In many cases, an attorney can work out an agreement with your employer or insurer to obtain a fair rating and benefit amount without the need for a hearing. When that is not possible, your attorney can bring the dispute to the workers' compensation commissioner for resolution. If the matter cannot be settled through discussion and negotiation, your attorney can take the issue to court. Fighting for a fair rating matters because workers' compensation benefits are often the financial lifeline that keeps injured workers afloat while they recover and adjust to life after a serious workplace injury.
Your Right to a Second Medical Opinion After a Work Injury
Understanding your medical rights in the Iowa workers' compensation system is just as important as understanding your financial benefits. Many injured workers accept the medical care provided by their employer's chosen doctor without realizing that Iowa law gives them meaningful alternatives when that care falls short.
Under Iowa law, you always have the right to seek medical treatment on your own, though it will generally be at your own expense unless you successfully pursue a petition for alternate medical care. If the insurance company is providing you with medical care, you should attend and fully cooperate with that care. However, if the company's doctors have nothing further to offer you and you find a provider who believes additional treatment would help, filing a petition for alternate medical care may be appropriate. There are specific procedural requirements for that process, and it is generally best handled with the assistance of a qualified Iowa workers' compensation attorney.
The Independent Medical Examination: What Iowa Code § 85.39 Provides
Once the company's doctor has evaluated you and assigned a permanent impairment rating, Iowa Code § 85.39 gives you the right to a second opinion through what is known as an Independent Medical Examination, or IME, with a doctor of your own choosing. The insurance company is required by law to pay for this one-time examination. This right exists specifically because the doctor selected and paid by the insurance company serves the insurer's interests, and injured workers deserve an independent assessment of their condition and the degree of their impairment.
When the IME doctor is paid by the insurer, all roundtrip mileage, time you miss from work, the examination fees, and any fees associated with testing your IME doctor orders must also be covered by the insurance company. If the IME doctor recommends additional medical care to treat your work injuries, you can use that recommendation as grounds to pursue the alternative medical care process and attempt to compel the insurance company to provide the recommended treatment.
Choosing the Right IME Doctor Is Critical
Selecting the right doctor to conduct your IME is one of the most consequential decisions in a workers' compensation case, and it should not be taken lightly. There are both good and bad IME doctors. Some IME doctors work almost exclusively with insurance companies and will predictably issue opinions that favor the insurer rather than the injured worker. Unfortunately, the number of truly qualified and neutral IME doctors in Iowa is limited. Walker, Billingsley & Bair have developed deep knowledge of which IME doctors produce fair and thorough evaluations and which ones do not. The right IME doctor can have a meaningful impact on both the medical care you receive and the total compensation available in your case. The firm handles IME-related issues at no additional cost to its clients and welcomes calls from injured workers who have questions about the process.
Light Duty Work: What Iowa Law Requires and What Employers Sometimes Do
At some point during recovery from a work injury, many Creston workers are offered light duty work by their employer. How you respond to that offer can have a lasting effect on the value of your workers' compensation claim, and making the wrong decision without legal guidance has cost injured workers significant amounts of money over the years.
Under Iowa law, if your employer offers you light duty work, you should at the very least go into work and try it. A practical recommendation is to keep a copy of your current work restrictions in your pocket or in your locker at all times so that you can refer to it immediately if anyone at the worksite asks you to perform tasks that exceed what your doctor has authorized.
What Light Duty Work Actually Looks Like in Practice
Light duty assignments vary widely in their legitimacy. Some reflect genuine efforts to keep an injured employee engaged in productive work within their restrictions. Others are questionable at best. Over more than twenty years of workers' compensation practice, the attorneys at Walker, Billingsley & Bair have seen assignments that include cleaning and janitorial work, desk tasks such as making phone calls and filing, performing a normal job with assistance for lifting, sitting in a small room with other injured workers doing nothing, counting shredded paper for no apparent reason, and standing in front of a factory floor counting meaningless items.
Some employers, including large operations that believe in keeping injured workers on-site at all times, will require employees to show up at work and perform no actual work at all even following a morning surgery. This is not accidental. It is a calculated strategy intended to pressure injured workers into quitting, which significantly reduces the financial exposure the employer faces under the workers' compensation system. The tactic is not right, but it is real, and understanding it helps workers avoid falling into the trap.
The Risks of Refusing or Quitting a Light Duty Assignment
There are limited circumstances under which an injured worker may be able to refuse a light duty assignment. However, refusing light duty work carries serious risk. If you refuse, you must be prepared to stop collecting workers' compensation benefits and to potentially have an unemployment claim denied as well. More significantly, if you quit a light duty job, your employer will always argue in subsequent proceedings that they would have continued to accommodate your permanent work restrictions regardless of what those restrictions turned out to be. That argument, if accepted, can substantially reduce the final compensation you receive for your injury. How you handle a light duty assignment is not a minor procedural matter. It is a strategic decision that affects the total value of your case. Read more about whether your employer can force you to return to work after a work injury surgery before making any decisions about a light duty offer. You can also review guidance on what happens when you are cleared for light duty but your employer has no work available.
Every workers' compensation case in Iowa is different. The laws and precedents that apply to light duty situations are highly specific, and this is not an area where general advice from any attorney will do. You need guidance from a lawyer with experience specifically in Iowa workers' compensation cases who can assess your individual circumstances and help you make the decision that protects your claim and your future.
Getting Legal Assistance In Creston
Navigating the complexities of Iowa workers' compensation laws can be daunting, especially during the recovery process from a workplace injury. Seeking guidance from a seasoned Creston Workers' Comp attorney is invaluable in ensuring your rights are protected and maximizing your chances of a favorable outcome.
Legal professionals play a pivotal role in gathering evidence, preparing documentation, and advocating for your interests throughout the claims process. Don't risk missing out on the compensation you deserve – enlist the support of a qualified attorney to navigate the complexities with confidence.
The Iowa Workers' Compensation attorney team at Walker, Billingsley & Bair know the importance of protecting your work injury claim from the get-go. 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 - 641-792-3595.