Personal Injury Law

Iowa Workers' Compensation - Client Question: How do I avoid the war?

By Steve Lombardi

QUESTION: I injured my shoulder on the job six months ago. I am scheduled for surgery. I would like to know what the proper procedure is for dealing with work comp. What I am entitled to in Iowa formula weekly while out? I also have been told that I probably will not be able to go back to the same work. Will I receive a settlement and how should i go about this in legal form would like to prevent the war of work comp.? Thank you for your reply.

ANSWER: Good luck on believing you can prevent the war. It started long before you were injured. If you want to prevent it then vote for non-tort-deforming politicians. As soon as you hear the words "frivolous lawsuit" come out of their mouths figure on voting for someone else.

I write a blog and have written quite a few entries about Iowa workers compensation law. Understand that without having specific information about your weekly earnings for the 13 to 20 weeks previous to the injury, the number of dependents and your marital status - the weekly indemnity payment amount can not be calculated. Iowa w.c. benefits tend to be more generous than other states. Whether you're eligible for Iowa benefits depends on several factors, and knowing how you were injured and where you were injured is a starting point. You must put your employer on "notice" within 90 days of the injury. Surgery is scheduled and more than likely since it's a shoulder you will not be eligible nor will anyone be able to calculate any permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits until after you've rehabilitated and the doctor has released you from care or back to work. It's too early to answer this question about a final settlement. And until the medical condition stabilizes, plateaus and you reach maximum medical improvement no one will know. So if someone answers this question with a dollar amount they are guessing.

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on February 26, 2008 (boomark / email).