When you are injured at work, you may be entitled to disability benefits while you recover. Scheduled injuries – typically injuries to the extremities – translate into a maximum number of weeks of benefits for injured workers. The amount of benefits an employee will receive depends on various factors such as the employee’s average weekly… Read More »
Workers’ Compensation for Workplace Fall Injuries
Workplace fall injuries from the same level or falls to a lower level are common occurrences resulting in numerous injuries and fatalities every year. Falls from the Same Level Workplace falls from the same level, resulting in trip, slip and fall injuries, often occur when cords or hoses are left laying across walkways or in… Read More »
Treating Work Related Musculoskeletal Injuries
Many construction workers are diagnosed with chronic muscle and joint injuries and are frequently prescribed opioid painkillers. In fact, many who suffer from workplace back, shoulder and wrist injuries that are not readily fixed, turn to medication to manage pain so they can return to work quickly. Unfortunately, widespread use of opioids in the construction… Read More »
Distribution Center Work Injury
During the pandemic, online shopping and deliveries are at an all-time high, especially during the recent holiday season. Unfortunately, hazards in distribution centers where employees work at a feverish pace to keep up, are also on the rise resulting in many more warehouse and distribution center workers experiencing an increase workplace injuries and fatalities. To… Read More »
Workers’ Compensation Claim Settlements
Depending on the seriousness of an injury, workers injured on the job may wish to consider a settlement of their workers’ compensation claim to receive a lump sum payment. Cases where someone might consider a lump settlement instead of ongoing medical expense reimbursement and wage replacement include: (A) Workers whose doctors are not recommending surgery… Read More »
Proving an Injury Occurred at Work
Recently a Walmart employee’s workers’ compensation appeal was denied because she could not prove that the injury was work-related. “In order to recover in a workers’ compensation action, a claimant must establish personal injury by accident rising out of and in the course and scope of his or her employment” or risk being denied workers’… Read More »
Welder Injuries
Welding is among the most hazardous jobs in construction and manufacturing. From burns, temporary blindness (welders flash), to electrocution, the job of welding can be downright dangerous. Add exposure to toxic chemicals released from welding rods, and workers have an increased risk of serious lung, brain, and nerve damage including manganism, known as Welder’s Parkinson’s… Read More »
Workers’ Compensation for Covid-19
In the early months of the pandemic sweeping the nation, many Iowa City meatpacking plant employees were infected with the corona virus with a dozen hospitalized and two deaths. Recent findings point to a more serious level of infection than previously reported, with over a thousand workers falling ill. With the pandemic still raging on… Read More »
Workers’ Compensation While Working From Home
Many who work remotely can attest to the many distractions and interruptions that occur when working from home. From demanding kids to a revolving door of maintenance workers and all the stuff in between, many who work at home do so in sometimes short and extended spurts – logging in work hours when the time… Read More »
New Iowa Law Protects Businesses and Healthcare Providers From Covid-19 Liability
Iowa lawmakers have passed legislation to protect businesses and health care providers from Corona virus-related lawsuits and sent the bill to Governor Kim Reynolds to sign. Employers and operators of businesses as well as health care providers who follow CDC guidelines – occupancy restrictions, social distancing, and increased disinfection efforts to name a few –… Read More »