Eagle Grove Workers Compensation Attorneys

Every year in Iowa, more than 35,000 nonfatal work injuries are reported. While many of these are relatively minor and require little medical care, thousands of Iowa workers sustain serious injuries that permanently change their working lives. If you have been hurt on the job near Eagle Grove, understanding what you must avoid doing during your workers' compensation claim, how to handle a scheduled independent medical examination, and whether a third-party claim may entitle you to additional compensation beyond standard workers' comp benefits can be the difference between a strong claim and a costly mistake that follows you for years.

If the insurance company catches you in a lie early on in your case, there is a significant chance they will deny your claim entirely. That means no more medical care and no more weekly payments through the insurer. While you may still be able to file a workers' compensation petition and pursue the appeals process, the reality is that it can take years after a denial before you see any additional money. Never exaggerate your symptoms. The doctors you are seeing were likely chosen by the insurance company and are already looking for reasons to discredit you and your claim. Most medical providers who treat injured workers are also trained to detect when a patient is not being fully honest. While the vast majority of Iowa workers are straightforward and simply want to get back to work, exaggerating your medical condition may brand you as a fraud in the eyes of the insurance company and the doctors reviewing your case.

Workers' compensation insurance companies commonly hire private investigators to film injured workers both at their medical appointments and at home. If your doctor has given you a restriction of no lifting more than ten pounds, that restriction applies to your job and to every aspect of your life. If you are videotaped lifting more than your permitted amount, you face a risk of additional injury, the value of your case will very likely decrease, and that video may be shown to your treating physician, who could then release you back to full duty without restrictions. Keep a written copy of your restrictions accessible at work at all times. If a supervisor asks you to perform tasks outside of those restrictions, show the written documentation and notify both your medical providers and your supervisor of the conflict.

Under Iowa law, your employer is required to provide you with a written offer of work following a work injury. If your employer offers you work that is within your medically established restrictions, whether in writing or verbally, you should go in and at least attempt to perform that work. Refusing work offered within your restrictions carries serious consequences. You can be terminated and will likely not receive weekly workers' compensation benefits. You can apply for unemployment benefits but will likely be denied because you refused available work. And the value of your workers' compensation case will generally be greatly reduced by what is characterized as a voluntary quit for refusing work that was offered to you.

There are situations where an employer or coworkers can make it extremely stressful to continue working after an injury. However, voluntarily quitting your job creates serious and lasting problems for your workers' compensation case. Your employer will notify the insurance company that you quit even though work was available to you, which will result in the suspension of your weekly workers' compensation checks. You may also be denied unemployment benefits because the burden falls on you to prove you had good cause to quit that is attributable to the employer. Even if your injuries are severe and serious, quitting voluntarily can greatly reduce the total value of your workers' compensation case. If your work environment has become intolerable because of your injury situation, speak with a qualified Eagle Grove workers' compensation attorney before making any decisions about your employment.

If the insurance company is paying you weekly temporary total disability benefits, that means your doctor has either completely taken you off work or assigned temporary restrictions your employer is unable or unwilling to accommodate. Taking on other work for cash or a regular paycheck while receiving TTD creates a significant risk. The insurance company may learn about the work through surveillance or other means and reduce your weekly benefit payments by the amount you earned on the side. The injured workers who have suffered the greatest financial consequences from this mistake are those who did not take it seriously enough. It is simply not worth the risk. If you have questions about what you can and cannot do while receiving benefits, consult with an attorney before taking any action.

The doctor selected by the insurance company must be a licensed physician with a medical doctor or doctor of osteopathic medicine credential. Insurance companies sometimes attempt to send injured workers to a psychologist or physical therapist for an IME. These are not valid IME providers under Iowa law, and you should consult with an attorney before attending any examination conducted by someone other than an M.D. or D.O.

The doctor selected by the insurance company is usually one who routinely performs examinations for insurers and reliably provides opinions the insurance company finds favorable. These physicians make a portion of their income from insurance companies and have a business interest in continuing that relationship. Knowing this going into the appointment helps you understand why the doctor's report may not reflect the same findings and opinions as your own treating physician.

As a general rule, you should not be required to travel more than 100 miles to attend an IME appointment. The insurance company is also required to give you at least 30 days notice before the scheduled examination. If either of these conditions is not met, speak with an attorney about your options before deciding how to respond.

If you choose not to attend the scheduled IME appointment, the insurance company can legally suspend your weekly workers' compensation checks until you attend. This is not something to take lightly. Refusing an IME without legal guidance will almost always create more problems than it solves.

You will likely be watched from the moment you exit your car in the parking lot until you drive away. Do not behave differently during the examination than you did when you arrived, while you waited in the waiting room, or while you were walking to and from your vehicle. Any inconsistency between how you move and function in the waiting area and how you describe your pain and limitations to the doctor will be noted in the report and used against you.

Be careful about everything you say during an IME appointment. This is not the time for casual conversation, jokes, or negative comments about your employer, the insurance company, the defense attorney, or anyone else. Do not exaggerate your symptoms. For example, if you tell the doctor you can only sit for five minutes at a time, you need to be standing up every five minutes or your behavior will be recorded as inconsistent with your stated limitations. The doctor will document in their report what you tell them, so be honest, be matter-of-fact, and stick to the facts.

There are specific tests doctors use during an IME to determine whether you are giving full and genuine effort. Give every test your full and honest attempt. When pain or discomfort comes up, be realistic about your experience. If you are asked to rate your pain on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the worst pain imaginable, do not claim a ten. Be honest and use a number that accurately reflects your experience. Exaggerated pain ratings are easily identified by experienced physicians and will damage your credibility in the same way that lying or underperforming on physical tests would.

Important: If the insurance company has scheduled you for an IME near Eagle Grove, do not go in without legal preparation. A qualified workers' compensation attorney can provide a detailed consultation to prepare you for what to expect, advise you on the specific doctor the insurer has chosen, and make sure you understand every aspect of the process before you attend.

If you were injured at work because a piece of equipment, machinery, or another product was defective, liability may be found with the manufacturer of that product. A product liability claim against the manufacturer is entirely separate from your workers' compensation claim and can be pursued simultaneously.

If your work duties took you to another company's location or property and you were injured there due to unsafe conditions on that property, you may have a premises liability claim against the property owner. The fact that you were working at the time does not eliminate the property owner's responsibility for maintaining a reasonably safe environment.

If you were driving a company vehicle or otherwise performing work duties and another driver ran a red light or was otherwise at fault in a collision that injured you, that driver may be held liable through a personal injury claim. This scenario is particularly common for workers whose jobs involve driving, delivery, service calls, or any activity that takes them onto public roads during work hours.

When workers' compensation benefits alone do not fully cover all of your losses following a serious work injury, a third-party claim may allow you to recover damages that go above and beyond what workers' comp provides, including:

• Pain and suffering for the physical pain and diminished quality of life caused by your injuries
• Mental anguish related to the trauma of the accident and its aftermath
• Full compensation for all lost earnings, including future earning capacity, rather than just the partial wage replacement available under workers' compensation
• Punitive damages in cases involving extreme recklessness or intentional misconduct by the third party

Why this matters for Eagle Grove workers: In cases involving severe injuries, workers' compensation benefits alone may not come close to covering all of your losses. There are limits on what workers' compensation pays, and those limits can leave seriously injured workers facing financial hardship even after their claim is resolved. A third-party claim may be the only path to recovering the full amount you actually lost.