H. Edwin Detlie, Attorney

Hearing Preparation in the 21st Century

Click here for a link to a recent presentation on preparing for hearings, using tools that have become available in the Twenty First Century.

Iowa Court Awards No Penalty for Failure to Pay While Appeal Is Pending Before the Agency

While limiting its ruling to the specific facts of this case, the Iowa Court of Appeals ruled in late July, 2009, that an employer could refuse to pay the ordered award to the injured worker while an appeal is pending. In Millenkamp v. Millenkamp Cattle and Allied Insurance, the Court found that the employer and [...]

Agency Raises Limit on Assessing Costs for Doctor Reports

In an Appeal Decision filed in late July, 2009, Caven v. Deere Dubuque Works, the Iowa Division of Workers’ Compensation rules will no longer be interpreted to limit the award of costs for doctor reports to $150.00. That is potentially a major change. Previously, the agency had a rule allowing an award to the prevailing [...]

Iowa Court of Appeals Finds No Agreement to Settle Claim

In its opinion in Eaton Corporation v. Branson, filed June 17, 2009, the Iowa Court of Appeals found that the employer was not entitled to specific enforcement of what they claimed was a legally enforceable agreement to settle a claim for a work injury claim. While the self-insured employer and its workers’ compensation claims administrator [...]

Iowa Supreme Court Finds Permanent Total Disability Award Cannot Be Apportioned

In the 1990s and up to 2004, the Iowa Supreme Court had held that an employer might be responsible for the impact of a previous work injury, even if it had happened at another employer. That string of decisions had upset employers, and in 2004, the Iowa General Assembly changed the workers’ compensation statute, adding [...]

About This Site

I designed the site myself, based on a previous office website which I had designed with Microsoft FrontPage. This site is designed using WordPress, which is much easier to learn and to use to design a website than FrontPage or Dreamweaver. While having some familiarity with html and css code helps, I was able to design the site with a minimal knowledge of code. I have now published a website on using content management software software for law firm websites, joomlawyer.org.

Click the title above, "About This Site," to read more.

Advanced Brief Writing

In addition to providing excellent representation to clients who have been denied in claims for Social Security Disability and SSI, this site offers resources to other attorneys wishing to improve their skills in handling such cases, at hearing and in the United States District Court. For two instructional videos on using LexisNexis HotDocs, Adobe Acrobat [...]

FIT Templates

Scroll down this page for a Flash presentation on using long-form FIT Templates to prepare draft decisions for Administrative Law Judges. It requires software from ODAR, currently version 6, installed on a computer using Windows XP and Word 2003. It will not work with Word 2007 or with Wondows Vista. Installation directions are detailed, and need to be followed carefully. Even if they are carefully followed, the installation will not work on some computers.

Why We’re Here

Our mission statement is, "To show the love of Jesus Christ through excellent and caring services, at the professional and staff level, for injured and disabled workers." 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.

About the Office

H. Edwin Detlie is an attorney admitted to practice in Iowa since 1976, as well as in the United States District Court for the Southern and Northern Districts of Iowa, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court,. His practice is limited to claims for workers’ compensation and Social Security Disability [...]