Are You One Of The Many Injured Iowans?
We understand that dealing with a work injury claim can be frustrating and confusing. There are many complex laws that you and you're employer should be following. Many kinds of injuries are covered by your employer's workers' compensation insurance policy. If you can prove that your condition has been made worse, aggravated, accelerated by your work activities it should still be considered work related even if you had a prior condition.
If you are injured at work and require treatment for your injury your employer will likely send you to a doctor of their choice. They are supposed to pick a provider that is reasonably suited to treat your injury. If for some reason you do not like the doctor they choose you can ask for alternate medical care. If your employer or their insurance company does not allow alternate care, you can file a petition for alternate medical care with the workers' compensation commissioner. However, keep in mind that there are very specific legal requirements for you to be successful in a petition for alternative medical care and you should talk to an attorney about those. Also, you are entitled to a second opinion if the doctor your employer sends you to gives you an impairment rating that you think is low. If this happens you can chose the doctor you want to see for a second opinion at your employer's expense. Once again, it is a good idea to talk to an attorney about who you should see for a second opinion.
Aside from getting proper medical care there are numerous benefits an injured worker should be receiving under the Iowa Code. During your work injury claim if you need to miss work due to a doctor appointment or physical therapy treatment then you should be reimbursed for any mileage expenses you might incurr. You should also be paid mileage for any trips you make to the pharmacy to pick up medication related to your work injury. Also, if you are required to miss work to attend any kind of appointment related to your work injury than your employer needs to be paying your for the time you missed from work, you should not have to use your personal time for such absences.
Furthermore, if you are not able to perform your job, because of your injury or are not able to work your normal hours, then you should receive weekly benefits due to your work injury. The amount you receive is called your rate. Your workers' compensation rate is based upon your average earnings prior to the work injury. The rate for an injured Iowa who is paid on an hourly basis would be figured based on their average of 13 weeks of pay for weeks that are considered a customary week. For instance, if you missed two day of work during the week while you were on vacation, then that week would be skipped. Other factors such as marital status and number of exemptions determine what your weekly rate will be. Your average earnings are then multiplied by 80% of your spendable weekly earnings which can be found in a chart provided by the Iowa Workers' Compensation Commissioner. Go to http://www.iowaworkforce.org/wc/publications.htm and look for the Iowa Workers' Compensation Manual. This amount changes every year so it will vary depending on when you were injured.
Your rate is very important because it determines how much compensation you receive. From our experience in dealing with workers' compensation rates, about half of our clients are being paid the wront amount when they come to us. We will check your rate to make sure you are being paid the proper amount. For example, if a client hires one of our attorneys and is being paid $252.00 a week at the time, our attorney will double check to make sure that amount is correct. If the attorney were to find that the client's actual rate is $315.00 then that means the insurance company has been paying $63 less than it should be. You might be thinking that $63.00 isn't much money, but if the insurance company has been paying you for the last 15 weeks then they now owe you $945.00.00 due to underpayment for the last 15 weeks, every tiny mistake made in your case can add up.
If you are injured at work and require treatment for your injury your employer will likely send you to a doctor of their choice. They are supposed to pick a provider that is reasonably suited to treat your injury. If for some reason you do not like the doctor they choose you can ask for alternate medical care. If your employer or their insurance company does not allow alternate care, you can file a petition for alternate medical care with the workers' compensation commissioner. However, keep in mind that there are very specific legal requirements for you to be successful in a petition for alternative medical care and you should talk to an attorney about those. Also, you are entitled to a second opinion if the doctor your employer sends you to gives you an impairment rating that you think is low. If this happens you can chose the doctor you want to see for a second opinion at your employer's expense. Once again, it is a good idea to talk to an attorney about who you should see for a second opinion.
Aside from getting proper medical care there are numerous benefits an injured worker should be receiving under the Iowa Code. During your work injury claim if you need to miss work due to a doctor appointment or physical therapy treatment then you should be reimbursed for any mileage expenses you might incurr. You should also be paid mileage for any trips you make to the pharmacy to pick up medication related to your work injury. Also, if you are required to miss work to attend any kind of appointment related to your work injury than your employer needs to be paying your for the time you missed from work, you should not have to use your personal time for such absences.
Furthermore, if you are not able to perform your job, because of your injury or are not able to work your normal hours, then you should receive weekly benefits due to your work injury. The amount you receive is called your rate. Your workers' compensation rate is based upon your average earnings prior to the work injury. The rate for an injured Iowa who is paid on an hourly basis would be figured based on their average of 13 weeks of pay for weeks that are considered a customary week. For instance, if you missed two day of work during the week while you were on vacation, then that week would be skipped. Other factors such as marital status and number of exemptions determine what your weekly rate will be. Your average earnings are then multiplied by 80% of your spendable weekly earnings which can be found in a chart provided by the Iowa Workers' Compensation Commissioner. Go to http://www.iowaworkforce.org/wc/publications.htm and look for the Iowa Workers' Compensation Manual. This amount changes every year so it will vary depending on when you were injured.
Your rate is very important because it determines how much compensation you receive. From our experience in dealing with workers' compensation rates, about half of our clients are being paid the wront amount when they come to us. We will check your rate to make sure you are being paid the proper amount. For example, if a client hires one of our attorneys and is being paid $252.00 a week at the time, our attorney will double check to make sure that amount is correct. If the attorney were to find that the client's actual rate is $315.00 then that means the insurance company has been paying $63 less than it should be. You might be thinking that $63.00 isn't much money, but if the insurance company has been paying you for the last 15 weeks then they now owe you $945.00.00 due to underpayment for the last 15 weeks, every tiny mistake made in your case can add up.
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