Workplace Injuries

• Part I - Iowa Workers' Compensation - Going and Coming Rule

  Steve Lombardi | October 20, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  A. Special Errand Rule Exception. This exception addresses those instances where a worker performs a duty not usually considered to be among those of the worker's regular employment, provided it is performed at the direction of the employer or demanded by the business. Otto v Independent School Dist., 237 Iowa 991, 23 N.W. 2d 915 (1946); Chia v. Quaker Oats (App. Descn. May 1994). This may...

• Intro - Iowa Workers' Compensation - Am I covered going to or from work?

  Steve Lombardi | October 19, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  It's called the going and coming rule. It's about being covered under workers' compensation when driving to or going home from work. Some trips are and some aren't. What's the difference? It's as easy as answering the following question. Does your job require you to have a car and to use it during the work day to further your employer's business? If yes, then you're probably covered. If not,...

• 2,000 unlicensed Chinese Manufacturing Plants

  Steve Lombardi | October 15, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  China has shut 2,000 unlicensed factories in the 19 days since it began a campaign against unsafe food and products, the country's top quality regulator said. Inspectors also revoked the licenses of 1,202 drug and medical instrument companies, Li Changjiang, head of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, said in a statement. More than 300 toymakers had...

• Iowa Workers' Compensation - Repetitive Injuries

  Steve Lombardi | October 05, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  If you break your leg it's clear you have an injury and when it occurred. But what if your job requires you to reptitively trim meat? Doing that job might bother your hands, wrists and forearms but not enough that you have to stop. And the more you do it the easier it seems to become. But one day you notice a nagging ache, pain, stiffness and swelling that over time gets worse. And at night pain...

• Iowa Workers' Compensation - How long do I get a pay check from work comp?

  Steve Lombardi | September 26, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  At long as a qualified doctor says you either: 1. Can't work, or2. Are at maximum medical improvement. If on the other hand the doctor excuses you from work, but you go back to work then you're not entitled to workers' compensation weekly checks. You still get medical just not weekly checks.Healing Period (HP) [85.34(1)]During the period of recuperation from an injury which produces a permanent...

• Iowa Workers' Compensation - Oregon Wind Farm

  Steve Lombardi | September 25, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  Iowa has it's own wind farm and more seem to be planned. Workers at the wind farms need to be careful. In Oregon a worker was killed when a giant turbine collapsed. One worker on the structure and another inside were killed and injured. A spokesman for Siemens (SEE'-menz), which manufactured and owns the tower, says the two were doing routine inspections Saturday when the tower collapsed at the...

• Iowa Workers' Compensation - Ammonia Exposure

  Steve Lombardi | September 21, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  The injured workers, their families and co-workers may have questions about the short and long term effects of being exposed to ammonia. As was seen in this most recent incident death can occur. Ammonia is a toxic substance the profile on ammonia is set out below. Ammonia is found throughout the environment in the air, soil, and water, and in plants and animals including humans. Exposure to high...

• Iowa Workers' Compensation - When to settle your claim?

  Steve Lombardi | September 20, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  You should never be quick to settle your workers' compensation claim. In fact if you settle before knowing the full extent of your future medical needs your right to receive paid treatment in the future can be jeopardized. Some clients are anxious to settle quickly, get paid and move on. While others are overly cautions. The same can be said about attorneys. Some attorneys seem too eager to...

• Iowa Workers' Compensation - Talk Like A Pirate Day is finally here!

  Steve Lombardi | September 19, 2007 10:33 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  It's interesting to note that pirates had the first workers' compensation program. Arr, ahoy me hearty! It be Talk Like A Pirate Day -- an' that mean it be time fer swashbucklin', pluderin', an' talkin' like the buccaneer that ye be!Arr, ahoy me hearty! It be Talk Like A Pirate Day -- an' that mean it be time fer swashbucklin', pluderin', an' talkin' like the buccaneer that ye be!Unfortunately...

• Iowa Workers' Compensation - Choosing the doctor.

  Steve Lombardi | September 15, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  Many workers ask if after an injury they are permitted to pick a doctor of their choosing. And the answer is no. In Iowa the employer pays for medical care to treat an injured worker and the employer gets to choose who they send you to. That's good from the standpoint of there being no deductible or co-insurance payment by the worker but not so good from the standpoint of who chooses the doctor....