Mediapolis Workers Compensation Attorneys

Filing a workers' compensation claim in Mediapolis often means facing an independent medical examination scheduled by the insurance company, understanding whether a painful disc injury like an annular tear qualifies for benefits, and being careful about what gets posted online while a claim is pending. The Mediapolis workers' compensation attorneys at Walker, Billingsley & Bair want local workers to understand what to expect at each of these stages.

Preparing for an IME: What to Expect

Under Iowa Code section 85.39, the insurance company has the right to send you to a doctor of their choice at any time during your case, often called an IME, or independent medical examination. There are a few things to keep in mind. The doctor they choose must be an actual doctor with an M.D. or D.O., though sometimes insurance companies will try to send you to a psychologist or physical therapist instead. Often there is nothing independent about the doctor they select, since it is usually a doctor who routinely performs examinations for the insurance company and provides opinions they like.

The general rule is that you should not have to travel more than 100 miles to attend an IME and should be provided with at least 30 days' notice of the appointment. If you choose not to attend, the insurance company can suspend your weekly workers' compensation checks until you attend.

Tips for Attending Your IME

You will likely be watched from the moment you exit your car in the parking lot until you leave the property, so do not act differently during the examination than you did while arriving or waiting in the waiting room. The doctor is not your friend, and you need to be careful about what you say. It is not the time to make wisecracks, say negative things about the insurance company, your employer, the defense attorney, or your doctors, or exaggerate your symptoms. For example, if you tell the doctor you can only sit for five minutes at a time, you had better be standing up every five minutes, or it will be recorded as inconsistent with what you said. The doctor will write down what you tell them, so be honest and stay with the facts.

How Much Compensation for an Annular Tear at Work?

Compensation for an annular tear at work can vary greatly depending on the circumstances of your injury. Annular tears are injuries to the intervertebral discs of the neck and back. These tears occur in the exterior of the disc and can be attributed to general aging, everyday activity, or trauma, such as overuse at work or a sudden accident, and they can cause extreme pain and discomfort.

How Do I Know What Caused My Annular Tear?

Because some annular tears can be linked to the natural aging process, it is important to discuss your symptoms and work activities with your doctor to help determine if your injury could be work-related. Concentric tears are typically caused by injury and appear between the annulus fibrosus layers circumferentially. Rim lesions are commonly caused by injury and bone spurs and occur in the outer layers of the discs. Radial tears are often attributed to aging and begin in the center of the disc, extending through the outer layers, so if you have a radial tear, it is worth asking your doctor if repetitive work-related activities could be the cause.

Am I Eligible for Workers' Compensation Benefits?

You must be able to prove an injury related to your work duties or environment to be considered for benefits. Under the Iowa Administrative Code, an injury is defined as any health impairment other than the normal building up and tearing down of body tissues. With annular tears, it is important to prove that the natural aging process is not the cause of the injury when seeking benefits. You must also be an employee working in Iowa to qualify, since a contracted proprietor who is not classified as an employee may not be eligible.

Figuring Out Compensation for an Annular Tear

Workers' compensation benefits include medical benefits, meaning your medical care and treatments should be covered, along with reasonable lost wages for attending treatments or therapies and necessary transportation expenses. Disability benefits are also available, and injured or disabled Iowa workers are entitled to up to 80 percent of weekly spendable earnings. The maximum weekly compensation amount is $1,419 for permanent partial disability, or $1,543 for temporary total disability, temporary partial disability, or during a healing period. Death benefits are also capped at $1,543 per week.

If you are suffering from an annular tear and believe it resulted from your work activities or a workplace injury, you may be entitled to workers' compensation benefits. An attorney can help figure out how much compensation you are owed, handle any disputes, and appeal a denied claim.

How Social Media Can Hurt Your Workers' Compensation Claim

When updating your social media, workers' compensation insurance adjusters are probably not your main audience. But when you are requesting money to pay for work injuries from an insurance company, you have to assume the company is checking your accounts to be sure you are using the money for a legitimate injury and in approved ways. Without the right precautions, social media can have a significant, and often negative, effect on a workers' compensation claim for damages.

Proof of Other Causes of Injury

If anything on social media implies that the injury occurred outside the course of employment, an employee's workers' compensation claim may be significantly impaired, since employees are only eligible for damages for injuries that occur on the job. A photo, status update, or conversation with another person may make an incorrect implication about how an injury was incurred, and the insurance company will be looking for any way to deny your claim.

Lack of a Disabling Injury

Social media may also weaken the argument of a person's disability claim, which provides compensation for lost wages when a worker is wholly or partially disabled to the point where returning to work is impossible. Social media photos, location pins, or status updates may suggest a claimant is not as disabled as their claim indicates. Getting seen lifting something heavy, exercising, engaging in physical activity, traveling, shopping, or playing with kids or pets may impair a claim.

Best Practices When Filing a Claim

Refrain from talking about your accident on social media, since doing so may result in an accidental admission of fault or a detail that gets used against you later. Avoid posting pictures and videos as well. For example, if you have claimed a serious leg injury but there is a video of you moving around without any assistive device, an insurance adjuster may question the validity of your injury, even if the footage predates the accident but was posted afterward. Don't post location check-ins and status updates either, since checking in somewhere or posting about having fun with friends may lead an adjuster to question whether you are as hurt as you claim.