In Millenkamp v. Millenkamp Cattle and Allied Insurance, the Court found that the employer and carrier could delay payment of benefits to the injured worker while the award was reviewed within the agency. The Iowa Code, Section 86.13, allows for an award of penalty benefits, up to 50% of benefits which have accrued but have not been paid. Generally, delay of more than 11 days without reason is considered as the basis for awards of up to 50%.

In this case, the worker asked for penalty benefits for failure to pay the award while the appeal was pending between the Deputy Workers’ Compensation Commissioner and the Commissioner. Initially, on remand, a Deputy Workers’ Compensation Commissioner, in the capacity of an Administrative Law Judge, agreed that penalty benefits were appropriate. The Commissioner initially upheld that award, but on reconsideration, reversed himself and the Deputy Commissioner, and ruled that penalty benefits were not appropriate under the facts of this case. Specifically, the Commissioner held that the deputy’s decision was a “proposed decision only,” subject to intra-agency appeal. The commissioner held that, “if defendants’ denial of benefits was fairly debatable before the decision, it was almost certainly fairly debatable after the decision.” The commissioner noted that the ruling was limited to the facts of the current case, and might be different on different facts.

The Iowa Court of Appeals upheld the decision not to award penalty benefits under Section 86.13.

Previously, the agency had a rule allowing an award to the prevailing party for the cost of doctor opinions, but in practice limited such awards to $150.00. The Appeal Decision in Caven cited the actual language of the rule, 876 Iowa Administrative Code 4.33, which contains no such limit on the cost of obtaining medical reports.

In practice, prevailing parties may spend large amounts obtaining reports from treating physicians. The agency had set a limit of $150.00 for costs of physician reports about 25 years ago, when $150.00 was a more reasonable amount. In Caven, the agency precedent limiting the costs to $150.00 was overturned. The physician in the Caven case charged $972.00 for the medical report, and the agency directed the employer to pay the full amount.

While the self-insured employer and its workers’ compensation claims administrator believed that the parties had reached a legal agreement to settle the claim, the injured worker testified that he had simply said that he wanted to look over the settlement papers, and that he would then make up his mind. The Court found that there was not sufficient evidence of an enforceable legal contract. Noting that the employer would have to produce “clear, satisfactory, and convincing evidence” that a “meeting of the minds” existed, sufficient to show a valid, enforceable contract, the Court found that the proof did not meet the employer’s burden.

The Court of Appeals affirmed the Iowa District Court ruling that there was no enforceable settlement. No decision has been made on whether to publish the opinion.

In Drake University v. Davis, filed July 17, 2009, the Court reviewed a decision that found permanent partial disability based on earlier work injuries, and then found permanent total disability based on a work injury at Drake University. The Iowa District Court found that Drake should not be responsible for the earlier injuries, citing Section 85.34(7) of the Iowa Code. However, the Iowa Supreme Court noted that the 2004 changes only referred to permanent partial disability awards. In this case, the Commissioner and the Court found that Davis was permanently totally disabled due to the injury at Drake University . Since the change in the law only applied to permanent partial disability awards, the Court found that Section 85.34(7) of the Iowa Code did not apply, noting, “Permanent total disability benefits are not subject to apportionment under section 85.34(7).”

There are web hosting services that specialize in WordPress and other Content Management System programs, but I have had good results from Siteground.

There are several excellent books available on WordPress, but you should look for a book on the most current release of WordPress, currently release 2.9.

WordPress is not a “lite” version of traditional web design software. It works completely differently, based on a Content Management System approach, and works much better in most respects than traditional web designing tools. The administrator can allow multiple users to contribute content, like a blog, but the administrator controls the design and overall content. There are literally hundreds of features, many contained in the release of the software itself and others which are free, that can add components such as podcasting, calendars, slideshows, flash presentations, and almost anything else that a web designer needs.  Here is a link to the latest video on the new version of WordPress:

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For two instructional videos on using LexisNexis HotDocs, Adobe Acrobat and LexisNexis CaseMap software to more effectively represent clients at and before hearing, click below. While the two videos have the same title, they are two separate presentations in a series on representing clients in disability appeals.

Note: H. Edwin Detlie has served as a consultant to LexisNexis, the largest legal publisher in the world, concerning software for attorneys who handle disability appeals, including LexisNexis HotDocs, LexisNexis Total Practice Advantage for Social Security. He also publishes a blog on Iowa Workers’ Compensation issues for LexisNexis and serves on the LexisNexis Larson’s National Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board; his opinions as to the use of LexisNexis software should be considered in light of such an ongoing consultant basis.

Click the object below to see the screencast.

When would you want to submit a proposed Fully Favorable Decision, using a FIT Template?

• First and most common, when you have a hearing, you are certain that the ALJ will allow benefits, and you know the precise restrictions that the ALJ is going to find, you can prepare a proposed decision. This might happen when an ALJ submits a single hypothetical to a vocational expert in a hearing, and the vocational expert finds that your client cannot do any work within those restrictions. Likewise, if an ALJ announces that he or she will find that your client meets a specific section of the Listings of Impairments, and why, you can draft a proposed decision.
• Second, if you have a client waiting for a hearing, who clearly meets a Listing, particularly the definition of Mild Mental Retardation under Section 12.05 of the Listings, you can draw up a proposed Fully Favorable Decision. For the most part, though, unless you have a clear winner, submitting a pre-hearing proposed decision is not likely to succeed. The ALJ won’t sign the decision unless you have the restrictions almost exactly right.
• Third, in rare instances, some ALJs have called attorneys and non-attorney reps, asking if they would draft a proposed decision, and listing the specific elements, or faxing them a list with the elements of the decision. I haven’t heard of that happening in Iowa.

When you prepare a decision, you should give it a name based on the first four letters of the last name, and the last four letters of the Social Security Number. So a decision for James Q. Sample, SSN 123-45-6789 becomes “Samp6789.doc”. Print the file, burn it to a CD, and mail both with a cover letter to the ALJ.  You can also electronically file the proposed decision.

Lots of people come to our office with physical or emotional hurt that can only be imagined. They are in need of healing.

Healing is done not only through recovery from injuries and illness, but through a recovery of faith and a right relationship with Jesus Christ. A man or woman who is healthy and has money can be more crippled than a man or woman with physical or emotional infirmities and financial problems. All the money in the world can’t buy fulfillment and peace. Jesus is the answer to that spiritual emptiness, as revealed in the Scriptures; for some people, a severe injury may be a chance to re-evaluate their relationship with God, through Jesus.

James, brother of Jesus, offered some advice that can be hard to hear: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James 1:2-3. (If the text is underlined, you can click on it to go to that passage at www.biblegateway.com) .

King David shared his joy, when he called on God, and God answered: “When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted.” Psalm 138:3.

When we feel inadequate, and when we feel that God couldn’t listen to our prayers, Paul assures us that we are all inadequate without the grace of God, even the greatest of Christians, “for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. But Paul also says that we are made perfect when we seek a right relationship with God through his son Jesus.

Paul assures us that only the grace of God can save us, and nothing we can do on our own can get us into a right relationship with Jesus. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:8-10. God’s grace is sufficient to make us worthy of his love.

That also means that nothing we have done wrong can stand in the way of a right relationship with Jesus. The Apostle Paul said, “God sent him who had no sin, to become our sin, that we might be the righteousness of God.” Second Corinthians 5:21. Only the sacrifice of God’s son could accomplish that total grace. Through that sacrifice, all wrongs are forgiven, and nothing can stand between us and Jesus.

Jesus tells us that He is the only way to true life. “Jesus said to him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me.” John 14:6. Jesus affirmed that he is God, saying “I and the Father (God) are one.” John 10:30. The Apostle Peter declared, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” Matthew 16:16.

When the Apostle Paul was jailed and the jailer asked how he could have a right relationship with God, Paul replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved–you and your household.” Acts 16:31. In his letter to the Romans, Paul said, “if with the mouth you confess the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from [the] dead, you shall be saved.” Romans 10:9. John declared, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” John 3:36.

We can pray for physical healing, but first, we need to pray for spiritual healing. When Jesus was asked for healing, he often replied, “your faith has healed you.” Mark 5;34, Mark 10:52, Luke 18:42. Only by developing a deep faith, and a true, honest relationship with God through his son Jesus, can we develop the faith that will heal all the emotional hurts, all the sins, and the physical injuries that we have suffered. If you are feeling unworthy, due to some past sin, the solution is easy: turn that sin over to Jesus. See Second Corinthians 5:21. Jesus’ last words on the cross are translated, “It is finished.” A more correct translation is that the debt has been paid, that the debt is “finished.” Jesus was saying that his death had paid for the sins we have committed, once and for all.

We cannot come into a right relationship with Jesus on our own; we need a fellowship of believers. If you want spiritual renewal, contact a church in your area, and ask the saving grace of Jesus into your life. If you belong to a church but have not attended for awhile, get into regular weekly attendance.

We also need to study the word of God to come into a right relationship. That means reading the Bible daily, to hear all the good news God has to share about the abundant life, and about eternal life. Click here for a daily Bible reading schedule that you can print out and follow. It also means praying for forgiveness, for direction, for encouragement, and for healing. It means letting go of the hurt others have caused us, and forgiving those people. Only Jesus can do those things, and this is the best time to start making that relationship for life.

What is a right relationship with Jesus? In the Old Testament, the prophet Hosea declared that God desires “mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings.” Hosea 6:6. God wants our love, not our sacrifice. We can’t work our way into Heaven, but the admission to Heaven is free for the asking. Your ticket was paid on the cross. Satan wants you to think that God doesn’t care, but God has been waiting all your life for you to proclaim him the center of your life, to ask forgiveness and turn to Jesus as your savior.

God is love, and he loves you more than you will know, on this side of Heaven. He sent his son, Jesus, because of his love for you. See John 3:16 and Second Corinthians 5:21. That is the relationship that Jesus came to buy for us, and our response, loving and accepting Jesus as our savior, and turning our troubles over to him, is all that he asks of us. We respond by turning away from the wicked things in this world, and transforming ourselves to be like Jesus, as a natural response to his love for us. We are human, and we cannot be like Jesus without being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Then, we can call on all the power we need to accomplish God’s will, including overcoming sin in our lives, turning our lives around and experiencing joy that does not come from earthly things.

We have written material at the office, specifically on seeking Jesus in times of doubt and suffering, as well as free Bibles for clients who do not have a Bible. Call us if you have any question.

H. Edwin Detlie served as President of the Iowa Association of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers from 2004 to 2005, is a Sustaining Member of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives and is past President of the Wapello County Bar Association. He has spoken at continuing legal education events for Iowa Legal Aid, the Iowa State Bar Association, the Iowa Association of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, and regional and national continuing legal education events of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives.

He is also a consultant and legal content contributor for LexisNexis, the world’s largest legal publisher, in Workers’ Compensation and Social Security Disability. He recently joined the LexisNexis Larason’s National Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board, and recently consulted on details of the recently released Social Security practice tool, the Lexis Social Security Total Practice Advantage. He is a regular contributor to the Lexis Workers Compensation weblog, or blog, on workers’ compesation issues. He is also a member of the Association of Nazarene Technologists and helped to redesign his church’s website.To review the mission and purpose of the law office, click on this link. Before commencing private practice in 1982, H. Edwin Detlie was an Administrative Law Judge for the Iowa Civil Rights Commission.

Click below for a humorous video about rethinking the way we do things: