Workplace Injuries

• Iowa Work Comp - Houses trying to help Iowa workers injured while working out-of-state

  Steve Lombardi | March 20, 2008 11:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  Iowa House passes House File 2542 concerning Iowa citizens who are injured working on another state. The Iowa House on Tuesday passed a significant piece of legislation to assist Iowa workers who are injured while working in a state other than Iowa. Now if the Senate will pass House File 2542 or something similar, a 2003 Iowa Supreme Court decision will be over turned. House passes change to...

• What is my shoulder injury case worth with surgery?

  Steve Lombardi | March 09, 2008 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  What is my shoulder injury case worth with surgery? Well first I'll say this is common in my practice to be asked for a second opinion and I do give them, without charge. I do it even for lawyers and who knows maybe I have with your lawyer. That doesn't mean everyone should write to me asking for a free consultation for a second opinion. QUESTION: I am a nurse and I got hurt at work, I had...

• Iowa Workers' Compensation - What do I need to get benefits?

  Steve Lombardi | February 28, 2008 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  I have a pretty good analogy that should help answer this question. Think of a car. If there isn't gas in the tank the car can't run. Workers' compensation benefits works a lot like that car engine. If you don't have a medical opinion relating your injury to a work event then the workers' compensation benefits engine won't start up. Medical opinions are the fuel of the workers' compensation...

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

  Steve Lombardi | February 26, 2008 8:45 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  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...

• Workers' Compensation, Mediated Settlement and the Medicare Set-Aside Trust

  Steve Lombardi | February 16, 2008 12:06 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  Medicare set-aside trusts, social security set-off language and workers' compensation benefits complicate any settlement. Know what you're doing or don't do it. There is more than what I've described, but this part of the protocol is being posted to give both attorneys unfamiliar with this area and clients who need direction in selecting a competent lawyer to see what is involved. It's...

• Iowa Workers' Compensation - PERC - Part XIV - Drycleaner workers - Conclusion

  Steve Lombardi | February 15, 2008 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  The risks are obvious and include the adverse effects from inhalation, skin absorption, fire, joint and muscle overuse and nervous system disorders. You as the lawyer have to know everything about the workers job description, actual work order and extent to which exposure takes place. Getting the client involved in drycleaning shop education, prevention and risk management is an option that...

• Iowa Workers' Compensation - PERC - Part XIII - A look at drycleaning equipment.

  Steve Lombardi | February 14, 2008 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  Before you can know about worker exposure levels you have to know the number of machines, the capacity of the machines and the age of the machinery being used. From that information you will begin to see how the drycleaning environment is working.Machine Design and Number of Machines -- Evaluation of operator exposures indicated that the most important factor affecting PERC exposure was the...

• Iowa Workers' Compensation - PERC - Part XII- Fire Hazard

  Steve Lombardi | February 13, 2008 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  As a drycleaning worker your concerns should be how to prevent fires and then what will happen if there is one.Fire Hazards - Drycleaning with petroleum-based solvents differs significantly from drycleaning with PERC. The difference goes beyond the fact that the petroleum-based solvents are flammable and PERC is not. However, when the health and safety hazards of petroleum-based solvents are...

• Ethanol Plant Death - Absolute Energy ethanol site

  Steve Lombardi | February 12, 2008 4:56 PM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  An employee working out of Minnesota at the ethanol plant under construction near Mona, Iowa has died. Few details are available although Iowa Occupational Safety Health are investigating. IOSH. OSHA. The employer is Fagen Engineering out of Granite Falls, Minn. The work site is Absolute Energy. We'll blawg more on this later.

• Iowa Workers' Compensation - PERC - Part XI - Physical Risks

  Steve Lombardi | February 12, 2008 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  Ergonomics helps us know how to avoid cumulative trauma type injuries. Remember, human capital wears out.Ergonomic Risk Factors - Doctor Stevenson is an economist I will quote. "Human capital wears out." It's that simple. If you do the same activity enough times the joints used will wear out over time. Pressing and removing wet tangled clothes puts stress on joints that can cause the affected...